I work at a steel mill and out local medical foundation comes out once every few months to collect. I am somewhere between 3 and 4 gallons donated. I have never had a bad draw, but the worse thing I did once was try and cut the grass afterwards, like the O.P. I just felt kinda faint, so I shut the lawnmower off (leaving it outside), went inside, got something to drink, and laid down. I was fine after that.
The 50 questions they ask before they accept your blood keep getting pickier and pickier. I had to skip a year after my trip to Dubai, even though I was there for a week and I probably had a lower health risk there than if I had gone to Miami, but the Middle East is the Middle East as far as the questions went. I had to skip our last blood drive due to the flu/cold bug going around.
My neighbor has donated over 16 gallons! You think about 3-4 donations a year, and 8 pints to the gallon; he's been at it for over 40 years! :up
