A Veteran Blood Donor’s Guide to Not Freaking Out Your First Time

Donating blood is a lifesaving gift, but it’s not always the easiest one to give. I should know—I’ve been doing it for over 15 years.

The national blood supply is currently in dire straits. Last month, the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies, America’s Blood Centers, and the American Red Cross jointly and urgently called for more donors in the midst of a severe shortage, one that still appears to be ongoing. Put simply, there’s no better time to start becoming a regular donor than right now.

Blood donation might seem scary or confusing, especially if you’ve never done it before. So as a longtime veteran, here are some pointers to making your first (of hopefully many) donation as breezy as possible.

What to know

Just to get this out of the way: Blood donation is perfectly safe to do. There’s no risk of contracting bloodborne infections since new sterile needles are used with every person. A study last year even found some evidence that frequent donation can cause helpful genetic changes in red blood cells that could lower the risk of cancer (more research will be needed to confirm that finding).

And though there are things that can make you unable to donate, such as a recent tattoo, chances are, you’re in the clear. Roughly two-thirds of Americans meet the criteria for donation, yet about 3% do so in a given year.

In the lead-up to your donation, you should be eating iron-rich foods such as spinach, chicken, and red meat (maintaining adequate iron levels is important generally). The day before your donation, you should get a good night’s sleep. And on the day of donation, you should try to avoid eating foods high in fat and drinking alcohol.

If you’re specifically donating platelets, you should avoid using aspirin at least two days beforehand. And if you’re donating plasma, you should eat foods high in protein before and after.

Throughout all of this—and I can’t emphasize this enough—stay well hydrated. The American Red Cross specifically recommends drinking 16 ounces of water (or another non-alcoholic drink) prior to donation. Hydration will increase blood volume, which helps speed the donation along and makes it easier for the phlebotomist to find your veins. This is a lesson I’ve had to relearn more than once, and I’ve suffered for it by having longer sessions than usual.

Experts also recommend that you stay away from excessive caffeine intake on the day of donation, though that’s mostly due to its dehydrating qualities. I personally don’t keep track of that, but just make sure to keep your water intake high if you do indulge in a daily cup.

Water can also keep your blood pressure from lowering too much, which in turn helps prevent dizziness, lightheadedness, and fainting.

How to stay on your feet during and after donation

Speaking of fainting, that’s probably the scariest potential side effect of donating blood. I’ve had more than one friend expressly tell me that’s why they don’t donate whenever the subject comes up.

Thankfully, in addition to staying hydrated, there’s actually now a very simple and reliable technique to prevent fainting if you’re prone to it, known as applied muscle tension (AMT). Numerous studies have shown that AMT can substantially reduce the odds of lightheadedness and fainting from blood donation, by up to 83%.

The basic principle of AMT is to tense and relax large muscles in order to maintain healthy blood flow and keep your blood pressure stable. This can include crossing your legs, squeezing your inner thighs or knees together, pointing and flexing your feet, or tightening your glutes and quads. You should switch between tensing and relaxing every five seconds, repeating it several times. And it’s best to do this right before the needle goes in, if you feel lightheaded at any point during the donation, before the needle is taken out, and before you stand up; you can also do it throughout the day afterward if you feel faint.

Why it matters

Truth be told, I only started donating in college for the chance to win a free Amazon gift card, and for a while afterward, I was fairly lax in making regular appointments or blood drive visits. But once I became a health journalist, it reminded me of just how important these donations are in medicine. Every two seconds, according to the Red Cross, someone in the U.S. needs blood or blood components, from patients with cancer or sickle cell disease to victims of a traumatic accident.

Getting over the hump and donating blood for the first time is great. But even better is becoming a frequent donor, since the blood supply has to be continuously replenished. And one last tip: if you do become a frequent donor, you should be regularly taking iron supplements; chelated iron in particular tends to be easier on the stomach.

Whether it’s whole blood, platelets, or plasma, there’s always room for one more person at your nearest blood center or local drive. In the U.S., there are also many plasma centers that pay you for each visit, though some experts worry about the ethics of these businesses.

However you do it, donating blood is one of the easiest and safest ways you can give back to the world. And the free cookies and apple juice are always a nice bonus.