Vocabulary
Have you ever thought about giving blood? VANESSA CLARK explains the process and presents key language to talk about it.
Words and phrases about donating blood
What happens?
When you arrive, the nurse will give you a health-check form to fill in. It asks about recent medication, medical procedures and investigations, travel to certain parts of the world, tattoos, piercings, acupuncture, contact with infectious diseases … anything that might make you unsuitable to donate. Next, a pinprick test is done — a drop of blood is taken from your fingertip, to check your levels of
haemoglobin. If all is well, you’ll be asked to sit in a donor chair, which is then tipped back to a horizontal position. With one arm on the armrest, a blood pressure cuff is placed around your upper arm.
The skin on your inner elbow is cleaned with an antiseptic swab.
The nurse then inserts a needle into your vein and holds it in place with sticky tape. The blood starts to flow through the plastic tubing into the blood bag, which sits on a monitor measuring the amount of blood and the time taken. The monitor tray rocks to stop the blood from clotting. A small part of your donation goes into a sample tube, to be tested at the lab, to find your blood group and to check for any antibodies or diseases. During the donation process, you can relax, or do the recommended muscle tension exercises to prevent a drop in blood pressure. When your donation is complete, the nurse will remove the needle and apply pressure and a dressing to stop the
bleeding. Then it’s time to rehydrate — help yourself to a drink and snack in the refreshment area!
Feeling unwell?
If you feel uncomfortable during your donation, or afterwards, just tell your nurse. About 1 in 70 people feel faint. You might feel light-headed or dizzy, sweaty, trembly or even nauseous. The nurse will stop the donation and take care of you. Serious complications are very rare, and staff are trained to deal with them.
Turn to “Easy English” (page 58) to read a short dialogue with a regular blood donor and to find out more about a practice of the past: bloodletting.