On the wholesome topic of blood and blood donation, I realized
that I had failed to mention a crucial part of the process – what do you do
after you give? The Red Cross and Canadian Blood Services have outlined a few
precautions to take post-donation, as you may be feeling a little light-headed
and out of sorts. For example, you should be sure to stay well-hydrated, and
drink an extra 4 glasses of non-alcoholic beverages. It is important to keep
your bandages on for at least 5 hours, and to not do any exercise or heavy
lifting for the rest of the day. And of course, if you notice any complications
or feel ill for more than 24 hours you should contact your doctor and the blood
centre.
And while these are all crucial and important steps to take,
the recovery time – in my opinion – can be a little dull; a combination of a
light head and a ban on physical activity leaves you with surprisingly little
to do. This, of course, isn’t the end of the world – a few lazy hours on the
couch never hurt anyone. But along my journey in blood donation, my sister and I (she's my blood-donating buddy) have found a
few activities that have proven to be a tad more enjoyable. So here are our best
ideas, the top 3 things to do after saving 3 lives.
3. Hit the nearest
seafood bar! Every time you donate blood the iron levels in your body
decrease, which could lead to anemia or even organ failure. So to prevent this
it is important for donors to either take an iron supplement pill, or more
enjoyably, eat plenty of foods rich in iron. And what better way to do that
than to fill up on oysters, mollusks and shrimp? With a whopping 295% of your
daily value of iron in 20 clams (190g), this is the easiest way to attain your
iron needs. If you aren’t a seafood fan, liver, spinach, lamb, peanuts, and
even dark chocolate are also good choices.
2. Take an afternoon
drive – Shotgun! When we drive, we often become so focused on the road that
a lot of the beautiful scenery goes unnoticed. So is there anything better than
spending the remainder of your day cruising around town, in the passengers’
seat? Operating heavy machinery (aka your car) is a big no-no in the hours
after you donate, so you finally have an excuse to relax and just take in the
sights. Grab a friend, hit the road, and be sure to make a stop for a Pepsi or
smoothie along the way – remember, you gotta stay hydrated!
1. Go grocery
shopping! Perhaps this is not the most exciting activity – on an average
day. But on blood donating day, anything out on the town is an adventure. You
know those little stickers they give you after donating, the ones that say Be nice to me I donated blood today? You
wear your sticker proudly, flaunt that blood donation sticker! Enjoy the
attention, and also use the opportunity to tell people about your awesome
experience donating. You might even inspire someone to go out and get their own
snazzy donor sticker.
