The first thing I saw walking into conference room A and B on Halloween night was a doctor, wearing a mask covered in fake blood, as if a terrible accident had gone wrong, handling student blood. This was my first experience donating blood.

It was comforting to know that it was really just a bunch of regular people like me, donating blood. Especially the doctors, who dressed up in costumes for Halloween.

Despite the initial shock of blood covered doctor my first experience donating blood was overall safe and comfortable, under the supervision of regular people, with a sense of humor.

I never felt nervous, but I was definitely anxious, it seemed natural to think of scenarios where something could go wrong. However, my experience donating blood was smooth and easy.

Once the needle was pierced in, the doctor laid me in a soft reclinable chair to keep my feet elevated. After I donated my pint of blood, I was advised to lie on the chair for 15 minutes  and then go to the snack table area to fill my stomach up and rehydrate for 15 minutes more.

It is widely known that you are unable to donate once you’ve got a tattoo. However according to doctors, my blood can still be eligible to donate after getting a tattoo, just as long as the tattoo parlor I choose to go to has a valid license/certification for their work.

The Stanford Blood Drive comes around to De Anza every couple months and is held in conference room A and B, near the cafeteria.