'I gave blood for the first time at Sheffield Blood Donor Centre - the hardest bit was eating all the crisps'

After a few weeks of anticipation, on Thursday, February 22 it was finally my time to shine. Almost all my colleagues at The Star routinely donate their blood, but I hadn’t been brave enough to do it - until now.

In preparation, I had been taking an iron tablet each day, keeping hydrated, and on this fateful morning I made sure to have an extra large portion of porridge, a banana, and a dollop of jam.

My appointment was booked at 10.15am at Sheffield Blood Donor Centre, run by NHS Blood and Transplant, near the cathedral - less than a 10 minute walk from our office. Arriving bang on time, I was welcomed by the staff who were aware I was a first time blood donor, and all put me right at ease.

I’m not a squeamish person by any means, but I’m also not particularly jumping at anything that involves needles. But 2024 is the year I stop being a wimp, so I didn’t let these thoughts get in my way. 

I was given some paper to read about the process, a donation safety form to fill out, a packet of crisps and some water. After being given the A-OK, I then had my iron levels checked by Abdul. I had been diagnosed with an iron deficiency last year, but the supplements I had been taking had clearly worked as a painless finger prick test revealed my haemoglobin level was 140g/l. 

And now it was time for the main event. After sitting myself down and volunteering an arm, donor carer Jade found my vein with ease and in the needle went. For those worried about the needle, as daunting as the phrase ‘sharp scratch’ sounds, it really isn’t that bad, and then it’s painless when it’s in. 

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I enjoyed a sit back, some good chat, a go at the day’s Wordle, and then after a very fast nine minutes and 51 seconds, one pint had been transferred from me and into a bag, and it was done. As my machine began to beep its congratulatory tune, donor carer Danielle came over, checked I was feeling okay, and replaced the needle with a chic bandage.

But about ten seconds later I suddenly wasn’t feeling quite as ‘okay’, and on the brink of passing out. Danielle tipped my chair back and another lovely staff member came over to fan me, and quite honestly, I felt like royalty.

After about five minutes nearly upside down, Danielle gave me my second packet of crisps for the day and another glass of water, and I was back to full health again. 

Danielle then took me over to the refreshment area for my THIRD packet of crisps of the morning, and I enjoyed a nice chat with others having a rest and staff members. One man who asked me if I was feeling better after my little stint said he was celebrating his 175th donation - what a milestone.

And then in no time at all, I was back out prowling the streets and showing off my "I'm a lifesaver" sticker in the centre of my jumper.

In 48 hours I'll find out what my blood type is (I'm predicting O+), and hopefully soon I'll receive a text on my phone telling me where my donation was used. Very exciting!

In just one hour of your time, you too can donate one pint of your time, enjoy lots of drinks and snacks, and have a nice relax. Oh - and you could save three lives. To find out more about how you can donate, or about the process, please visit  Give Blood and NHS Blood and Transplant website.