The Blood Donor

A few days ago I was in AIIMS hospital in Delhi. I was there to donate blood for one of my friend's relative. While I was waiting for my turn after the pre-donation screening, the nurse called a name, 'Rakesh Kumar'. He was sitting on my left and responded. He looked quite nervous. The nurse also sensed his nervousness and told him to go out and have a cup of coffee. He didn't go out for coffee, instead, he walked in the corridor, may be gathering some courage. Though I was pretending to be okay, I was also nervous. It was the first time I was donating blood. In my childhood I was always scared of the syringe and seeing the uneased man, my anxiety grew more. After a few minutes, the nurse called my name and I took a quick glance over the other people lying in the donor bed. Most of them looked calm which relieved my anxiety. The nurse cleaned my left arm with an antiseptic and injected the needle in a vein to draw the blood. For a fraction of second, it felt like a pinch just the way my brother used to pinch me while fighting in childhood. After that, I smiled at myself for panicking unnecessarily.

The nurse called the same person next. Again he was on my left bed. I observed him the way he closed his both eyes when the nurse was injecting the needle. And the relief he felt after a few seconds, just the way I had felt a few minutes ago. While the blood was transmitting to the kit, he told me that ten years back in 2008, his boss had donated blood for his mother who was suffering from cancer. There was a situation of an emergency and his boss was quick to come forward to donate blood. And because of the donation, his mother was lucky to live five years more. That day he was there to donate blood for the boss' relative. He was also scared of the needle but he desperately wanted to help his boss. So somehow he defeated his fear of syringe and was glad to help his boss. And later on, while coming out with a bottle of water, a tetra pack of juice and a packet of Good day biscuit, he told me that he was panicking unnecessarily for what felt just like a pinch.

"Gratitude helps us overcome our fears."