Blood doning

[undyingking]

It struck me the other day what a very nice activity giving blood is. (Apart from the pain, bruising, etc, that is.) The mood in the room is uplifting; everyone, donors and staff, is pleasant, friendly and appreciative of each other; there's a good mix of people of all descriptions among the donors; basically it comes across a bit like the ideal utopian society.
(At least, that's been the case in the various places where I've been. If it's different round you, maybe I've just been lucky.)
It made me wonder: when else do we get to have such a generally pleasant experience, apart from things involving one's near and dear and/or mind-altering substances? People at work, in shops, in pubs etc might be reasonably OK to be around, but you don't come out of those feeling uplifted and positive about life in general.
I wondered whether part of this mood is because this is the closest that most of us get to genuine altruism. Maybe the endorphin rush of for once being relatively unselfish, and being around other people in a similar rush, is responsible.
(Or maybe light-headedness from being shy a pint?)

Comments

[vicarage.livejournal.com]

Strange, I grew to dislike the whole process of giving blood, both the pestering beforehand, and the long queues and chair hopping. I got to 25 or so before giving up.

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

I guess I'd find it a bit of a pain if I was in a hurry, but these days I rarely am...

[brixtonbrood.livejournal.com]

You can opt out of the pestering, and there are some sessions where you can book an appointment to minimize queuing. However it'll be irrelevant in Colorado as I think Brits are presumed to be too exposed to BSE to donate anyway (I wonder if they make an exception for vegan Brits?).

[vicarage.livejournal.com]

Vegans in Colorado, only if t__m__i visits!