I don’t like needles. I never have.
And yet, on Monday at 11 a.m., there I was, waiting outside the new blood donor center in Ackerman Union, ready to spend about 90 minutes with a 17-gauge needle in my arm.
I had an appointment ““ the center’s first ““ for a plasma and platelet donation.
The new location, which has its grand opening today, is an offshoot of the UCLA Blood & Platelet Center on Gayley Avenue and is meant to attract student donors who can pop in between classes and drop off a pint of blood.
Those with more time can donate blood components ““ platelets, plasma, red blood cells or multiple units.
Fernando Gironas, the operations coordinator, told me the center’s wide lobby and comfortable seats are designed to make the space seem like an extension of the hallway, so students feel comfortable hanging out.
I first met Fernando at a blood drive on campus my second year, when he wandered over to the bed I was lying in and complimented the size of my veins.
He described apheresis, the process through which blood is drawn and separated, a component part is collected and the rest is returned to the donor through the same needle.
Fernando told me that with veins like mine, I shouldn’t be bothering with whole blood, and like the wide-eyed youngster I was then, I believed him.
Three years and about 20 platelet donations later, I now regularly spend several hours calmly watching a movie while a machine pumps my blood in and out of my body.
On some level, of course, I donate platelets for the same reason I think it makes sense to be an organ donor, because it has the potential to save lives, and if I’m not using those body parts, someone should be.
Terminally ill patients and those undergoing major surgery need blood products to aid their recoveries, or just to stay alive.
But I think the reason I kept going back is much more about the staff. Everyone at the center on Gayley is always cheerful and attentive.
Being able to kick back in a comfy recliner, watching a movie on a personal movie screen ““ the center has more than 1,000 DVDs to choose from ““ as nurses and lab technicians offer me blankets and juice is as close to flying first class as I’m going to get on a bimonthly basis.
As the first patient at the new center, I could tell the staff was still prepping and adjusting, but the entire process went more smoothly than I had expected.
The metal gate went up at 11 a.m., and Fernando and other staff members were standing there beaming at me. They welcomed me into the center and talked about how excited they were to open the new location.
I filled out the standard one-page survey asking about my medical background and signed a consent form ““ all attached to a shiny new clipboard ““ and settled into one of the snazzy blue seats.
I was called in to one of the side rooms for a short interview, where I answered questions about my travel history and medical background.
Nicole Grimaldo told me she was thrilled to be at the new center after working bloodmobiles and high school blood drives for about nine years.
Nicole checked my iron level, temperature, pulse and blood pressure (the process is identical for blood donors) and sent me over to one of the two platelet collection beds.
Delia Tejano, a registered nurse, introduced herself and said she was excited to collect the center’s first donation. She disinfected the crook of my left arm for 30 seconds as another nurse stacked chemical heat packs on me. (The center has since stocked up on blankets.)
It was time for my favorite part of the process, the insertion of the needle. I figured it was an important moment, so I decided not to look away as I usually do.
As I watched Delia insert the tip of the needle into my arm, I realized that though the process isn’t exactly pleasant, I no longer find it scary.
Having donated so often, I know I can trust the staff to put my safety first. The collection machines have sensors that track the rate of blood flow, and the machines beep and automatically pause the process if the flow slows at all.
Any time a machine beeps, a nurse immediately checks on the patient to make sure there are no complications. On Monday, Delia rearranged heat packs around my arm and reminded me to keep squeezing the stress ball in my left hand to keep the vein dilated.
In spite of the flurry of activity as the staff adjusted to the new center and called in supplies from the Gayley location, I never felt neglected.
Staffers milling by kept asking how I was doing, offering juice and more heat packs, and Delia bragged to me about her daughter, who graduated from UCLA in 2006.
When my tongue tingled a little because of the anticoagulant, a lab tech who had moved over from the Gayley center brought me calcium tabs and checked again a few minutes later to make sure I was OK.
Right after I finished my donation, I walked around observing the ongoing planning for today’s grand opening.
Linda Goss, the donor recruitment supervisor, walked over with a stern expression on her face.
“Audrey, have you had your cookies and juice yet?” she asked, as if I had just tried to feed my broccoli to the family dog.
“Um, no. I was busy,” I responded sheepishly.
Linda herded me into a chair, handed me a cookie and a bottle of orange juice and instructed me to stay there because she didn’t want me to be the first patient to pass out.
The staff was clearly excited to be opening the new location, and Fernando repeated again and again that the center was all about serving students.
Fernando gave me a hug after my donation and said he hoped that having a collection center on campus would help them recruit other regular donors.
“This is for you guys. We’re guests in your house. This is just a way to let you guys do what you do best,” he added, pointing to the “I’m a hero!” sticker he’d proudly attached to my sleeve.
I asked him how excited he was for the opening.
“Just look at the smile on my face,” he replied with a huge grin.
To make a donation, call 310-825-0888 for an appointment or drop in to the UCLA Blood and Platelet Center on the A-level of Ackerman Union. E-mail Kuo at akuo@media.ucla.edu.