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Old Fri Aug 30, 2013, 08:06 PM
Chirley Chirley is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Logan City Australia
Posts: 1,100
Honey I used to take blood from people as part of my job. It's not policy in Oz to use small needles for blood tests because as the blood travels through a finer needle it can break the blood cells and cause false results. The smallest gauge should be a 22, ideally larger. (The higher the number, the smaller the needle)

There are things you can do to help. Drink some water (not a lot, it effects the results), keep warm (wear a coat and take it off at the last minute), walk briskly or jog to the collection centre (exercise dilates your veins), while waiting for your turn, hang your arm down and let gravity help pool the blood in your arm, take a heat pack with you and while you are waiting, place it over the area where they can usually find a vein. Sometimes lying down works.

I have a port and I love it but it doesn't give blood for tests but that doesn't really matter because generally blood collection centres are not permitted to access your port for a blood test anyway. Only Registered Nurses can take blood from your port and phlebotomists are not Registered Nurses.

There are little tricks that blood collectors can use to dilate veins but it depends entirely on the amount of experience, education and skill. When you find a good collector stick to them.

Chirley
__________________
Copper deficiency bone marrow failure (MDS RAEB 1), neuromyelopathy.
FISH reported normal cytogenetics but gene testing showed
Xq 8.21 mutation
Xq19.36 mutation
Xq21.40. mutation
1p36. Mutation
15q11.2 deletion
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