The experience was definitely tense beforehand, as I definitely felt nervous about the whole thing. You had to go through a screening process first, where they pricked your finger to test your blood for any abnormalities (i.e. your hemoglobin/iron count, etc.), and if cleared you proceeded to the next section. When I went to get my blood drawn out (a whole pint of blood; for reference, the average adult male has 10 to 12 pints, or roughly 5 to 6 liters), I was incredibly tense, as I had never done something like this before.
It definitely stung when the needle was inserted in the vein in my left arm, but afterwards, I became slightly more relaxed and calm. When the pint of blood was drawn, and the process over, I felt lightheaded, giddy, and nauseous. I had to lie down for half an hour (probably because I'm slightly underweight for my age, being rather lean). They made sure we had a fair share of snacks and drinks (juice and water) before letting us go.
It's been roughly three or four hours since then. I feel better than I did, albeit slightly tired and still somewhat lightheaded. However, I'm glad I went through with the blood donation, and here's hoping that next time will be smoother.
Sorry for the long post, I just wanted to share my experience.
Have any of you donated blood before? If so, what is it like?
Edit:
Golden Legacy, on Oct 26 2007, 01:56 PM, said:
The only bad part about it is that in the 24 hours immediately following the donation, you become very weak and slightly dizzy because of the drop in blood pressure. But that only lasts a day, and after the first donation the recovery time shortens considerably.