giving blood?

There is a blood drive at my school on thursday and i signed up for 11:00. I am worried of whether i should or not, i'm afraid i might pass out or something. Here are my conditions:

I have my period so I am already losing blood.

I am dieting and exercising.

I eat breakfast at 7:00. That's 4 hours before.

I have gym the period before, so I will be hot and sweaty (if it's a hot day).

I have dance right after school for an hour.

Under these conditions, I am a bit concerned on how much I should eat and drink the day of and such. I don't want to pass out or anything. Any suggestions?

They will ask you questions about that kind of stuff and if they don't think it's going to be ok, they won't let you do it (if they're doing their job right)

When our school did it they told us to drink fruit juice and have a BIG breakfast...and if breakfast is 4 hours before I would say have a snack too.

Sorry I'm not much help but that's all the info they gave us =\

Don't be surprised if you get turned away.  Before they take your blood they take a small sample from your finger to check your blood iron levels.  If you have your period your blood iron may be too low for you to donate. 

Sometimes there are weight limits, too. My school doesn't let you if you're under 110 pounds. (Pretty weird, actually. It seems like there should be bmi limits instead.)

If they do let you do it, you should have something right before and after to get your blood sugar up. Juice or a cookie would work well, or a banana.

Hey there. I just gave blood on Friday for the first time and it went pretty well. I think you'll still be qualified given all those circumstances. The only thing you might want to consider (it's pretty silly) is that they kinda ask you to eat a lot so as to maintain your blood sugar. I told the doctor what I had for breakfast (it was a 300 calorie breakfast) and he said "Go have some cookies, and have a hearty lunch." So it's kinda gotta be a cheat day. But you'll want to eat a lot cuz you'll be pretty tired after anyway! Best of luck.

PS I'm not saying you should not give blood for dieting purposes. One day of sacrifice is totally worth saving lives.

They don't want you giving blood if you're on your period... they turned me down when I was on. There will be more opportunities! :)

http://www.redcross.org/services/biomed/0,1082,0_557_,00.html

 

these are the requirements about giving blood.... they say nothing about being on your period, it really does not matter, what matters is that your iron count is good enough and that your blood pressure is in the correct ranges

I have given blood regularly for 13 yrs and have only been turned away once and it was for iron level. They said it was because I donate so regularly my body hadn't quite built the iron back up yet. My period has never been a factor at all. I don't change my activities at all ahead of time, and not usually afterwards either. If I'm feeling especially tired afterwards I might take it a little easier than usual.

That being said... there are also people who almost faint (or even completely faint) every time they do it. Everyone is different and the more nervous you are, the more likely you are to "feel" faint.  Keep in mind the people running the blood drive are very well trained to handle almost any cicumstance. They also screen you very closely before they start to make sure it will be safe for you to donate. They also usually provide drinks and snacks right there for anyone who needs/wants it. Ask them questions and let them know if you start to feel faint or anything. They will help you a lot!

I think this has been said, but I'll reiterate it.  Eat a HEALTHY meal beforehand.  A guy who sat next to me had like a double Hardee's thickburger and they started having all these health concerns for him.  Apparently it spiked his cholesterol levels and his blood sugar was off.  They told him eating poorly can give the impression of false health problems.