Dr. Victoria GrinbergMar 11

Donating! 🩸 If you can, please do, too!

#BloodDonation #sanquin

Show threadDr. Victoria GrinbergMar 11

Heh, it's the same dance every time.

"Have you donated from this arm before?"
"Yes, always the left arm."
"This is a very narrow vein. I will call a more experienced colleague [this time a super young lady in a headscarf 💚] to do it."
(I'm happy they do check! It's just always kinda funny ... I can tell them by now that there are two veins and that it is easier to feel them than to see.)

And then they are surprised that I'm done in 5 min max. Narrow veins but good blood flow.

Show threadDr. Victoria GrinbergMar 11
And the reason I post about donating is rather simple: I long procrastinated on starting to. And then folks I followed on twitter kept posting about them going donating so that at a point I made the jump. So trying to give back into the circle of encouragement...
Show threadTerence EdenMar 11
@vicgrinberg do you get free biscuits and snacks afterwards? We do in the UK 🙂
Show threadDr. Victoria GrinbergMar 11
@Edent yes! They actually encourage you to drink and eat something afterwards. And it's really nice Dutch bisquits, raisin bread or nuts at my location. You can also get a "soup in a cup" and similar, though I usually go for the sweet stuff 😅
Show threadTerence EdenMar 11

@vicgrinberg soup! We get water or fruit squash. But, yes, lots of sweet snacks and crisps.

Thanks for donating.

Show threadDitol

@Edent
Oh, so I was wrong complaining (in my head) about pasta with tomato sauce and cake with coffee? Good to know.

@vicgrinberg

Mar 11 at 3:21pmWeb
Show threadNickMar 11
@[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] pasta !
Show threadDitolMar 11

@nick
Look, at the place I was donating blood in the city I used to live we would get 25€ for additional food expenses due to the blood loss. Back in the days me and friends would spend the money at a local restaurant. Compared to that, some pasta with tomato sauce is... you get the point: I didn't know, how good I had it. ;)

This thread is now developing into that meme ("you guys have xyz?").
@Edent @vicgrinberg

Show threadDr. Victoria GrinbergMar 11
@ditol @nick @Edent they are pretty insistent on there being no money involved in NL - too afraid that ppl would lie on the questionnaires because of money.
Show threadNickMar 11
@[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] yeah there is no money in the UK either, just drinks, crisps and biscuits, plus a badge when you have donated 25 times etc
Show threadNickMar 11
@[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] I got a badge for 50, looks like the next one is 75
Show threadDr. Victoria GrinbergMar 11
@nick @ditol @Edent whoah, that one is really impressive! 💚
Show threadNickMar 11
@[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] I actually got a metal badge sent to me as well !
Show threadDitolMar 11

@nick
Don't you get some souvenirs like a mug or a small book shop vocher?

Oh man, Germany starts feeling like a luxurious blood donor's paradise...

@vicgrinberg @Edent

Show threadNickMar 11
@[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] we get stickers!
Show threadTerence EdenMar 11
@nick @ditol @vicgrinberg
Oh yes! Great for laptops and other gadgets.
https://mastodon.social/@Edent/115400793572610711
Show threadDr. Victoria GrinbergMar 11

@Edent @nick @ditol here is mine!

(Also, I'm also 0+ 😊)

Show threadDitolMar 11
@vicgrinberg
They're great, I need those in German! :)
@Edent @nick
Show threadDitolMar 11
@vicgrinberg @Edent @nick
I have this slight suspicion, I am not that special...
Show threadDitolMar 11

@vicgrinberg
I agree, but 25€ once every 2 or 3 months wasn't enough to be considered proper money even in my uni years. It really felt like reimbursement and they did their best to explain it like this. But I guess, with the recent cuts to the welfare state we may end up in a situation, where 25€ every couple of months DOES feel like proper money to many people...

@nick @Edent

Show threadDr. Victoria GrinbergMar 11
@ditol @nick @Edent as someone who has both personal experience with and still knows folks on social welfare: 25 was a lot of money for some people 20 and 10 years ago, too.
Show threadDitolMar 11

@vicgrinberg
Same here. (Was there, not ashamed of it, know people still there.) Yep, true.

@nick @Edent