Failed blood donor - this is getting annoying!

[drspouse]

I tried today to give blood unsuccessfully for the 4th time!
First time they stuck the vein wrong and they aren't allowed to try another one.
Second time, and today, my Hb was just under.
Third time I'd had a virus in the previous week.

How can I get my Hb up? I'm actually trying to lose a bit of weight but making sure I eat lots of protein. I'm post menopausal so I thought it would be easier! I'm going very slowly on the weight loss (I have a couple of stone to lose and I've lost half a stone since before Christmas.)

Are you taking iron supplements? My Hb regularly got me chucked out, it was very hit and miss.

I'm not - I could do but I'm worried they will give me constipation!

Just get OTC iron supplements. It will be enough to boost.

What's Hb?

Hemoglobin (levels in blood).

I went to give my 10th donation a couple of months ago and got turned down for low iron. I eat sooooo many green leafy vegetables, I don’t understand it - I eat more spinach than sodding Popeye!!

Iron supplements, there’s also a YouTuber who documents what she eats to get her iron up for platelet donations in America, Lisa Nguyen her what I eat before donation videos

I'll give it a go!
I assume the platelet donor in the US gets paid...

No she doesn’t get paid for the one she donates to

Because you should be eating meat, it's higher in iron and more easily absorbed than plant iron.

But if you're vegetarian, try better sources such as eggs, tofu and lentils.

Plus, make sure you're having vitamin c, it will help you absorb more iron.

Thank you to all the blood and platelet donors. I received three units of blood before and during an emergency surgery in 2016 and wouldn't be here otherwise! 💕

But I doooooo! And lentils and beans and all the good stuff. My heart sank watching my drops of blood floating on the surface of the test liquid.

And I eat eggs every day, and oranges.

I'm O negative and for about 2 decades I couldn't give blood due to rules about living in malarial areas. Now I can I want to make the most of it.

:(

My Hb was too low today too. Last time (first time donor) I was borderline and they had to do the machine test then too before they let me go ahead. But my iron levels are within the normal range for a healthy person, just not high enough for blood donation. I will try again in a few months but i suspect this is normal for me and I will always have this issue.

you need to be a little bit careful taking iron supplements unless you know you're deficient (there are plenty of other things that can cause a low Hb). The transfusion service uses haemoglobin not iron and their cut-off is relatively high for fairly obvious reasons (about 125 IIRC, so not a level that would trigger concern about anaemia). If a post-menopausal woman is anaemic though, then that may warrant further investigation as it's not so easily explained by monthly blood-letting. However post-menopause is when iron overload occasionally declares itself in women, which is why empirically taking iron for a long time when you don't know your iron status can become tricksy. If you're desperate to continue donating it may be worth getting some proper bloods done so you know whether there's a real problem/how to improve it enough to meet their target.

I’ve had to accept that I can’t donate blood after multiple failed tries. I have terrible veins and no amount of drinking water, keeping my arms and hands warm, clenching my fists or all the other tips seems to work, they can just never get it on the first try and they’re only allowed to try once. Generally when I go for a blood tests it takes a minimum of 5 goes till they can get enough to fill the little tubes, the one time they actually managed to find a vein at the donation centre it trickled out so slowly they only got a few drops then it stopped.

@drspouse I miss about one in three due to haemoglobin measuring lower than the 25 they need to see for me to donate - last month it was 23, so not medically low, but too low to donate.
I've started taking Spatone liquid every day and am hoping that helps - doesn't make me constipated and these days it doesn't taste revolting like it used to when I took it during pregnancies.
My diet's good, I'm healthy, perimenopausal, no symptoms of low iron levels, just too low to donate blood. I've been donating since I was 18, and it's only in recent years that I've been having this problem.
Previously, I've gone mad eating loads of spinach in the days before I donate (think salads, smoothies, raw from the bag) and just snuck above the 25 level, so it does work for me.

Why didn't they try the other arm for the donation? I usually only give from my right but when I mangled myself playing rugby they took it from the left and took a bit of poking about but they got there in the end.

Hb is frustrating, but that's in your control - if you don't eat meat, spinach, black strap molasses, Guinness! I wouldn't ever attempt to give blood within a week of being unwell, so not sure why you tried it? You don't want to pass on blood borne infections.

I take a daily multivitamin with iron , just supermarket or boots own brand as my reading was consistently low, not failed me yet , been about 5 years

I'd actually forgotten about the virus - it was just a feeling of nausea that went on for about 36 hours and it was 5 days previously - DH and I thought it was a virus and I only remembered when filling in the form and counting days.

Fair enough if it slipped your mind, but presumably you're not cross at the donation service for that? That's why they have the questions on the form, because some people need a brain nudge.

No, not cross, just generally fed up at my bad luck!