I made my first blood donation in ‘07 or ‘08 because there was a clinic at my university campus and it seemed like a good thing to do. I ran into iron issues in 2010 and was told I needed to stop donating. Fast forward to 2021. I had complications during the birth of my 2nd son, lost 3.5L of blood and found myself suddenly a blood recipient. I received 6 units of blood, 4 units of plasma, a unit of platelets and a unit of cryoprecipitate. In honour of the blood products I received I got a plan in place to manage my iron levels and went back to donating. My first attempt in June failed (tough veins), but I successfully donated just before my son turned 1. And my husband made his first and second donations in appreciation of the blood used to save my life too! I never imagined when I started donating that I’d ever be on the receiving end.
