I'm also 0- universal donor. Maybe we're twins separated at birth 25 years apart in parallel universes. I have given blood often over the years, sometimes more often than others. It's a donation in Canada. All you get are cookies and the ability to save lives (which is pretty awesome.) I once received several pints of blood, some of it semi-frozen (a story I've told here before). I am very grateful for this. Once the transfusion nurse couldn't find an effective vein and needled me four times before giving up. That turned me off from donating for several years. Twice they rejected my blood - once low hemoglobin (my normal is slightly anaemic) and following a trip to France and too much rich food, they rejected my blood again. That turned me off France. Good question AnSionnachRua.
Hey sis, just an FYI that you only get cookies in the US too. It's completely voluntary and without any sort if compensation.
Good, voluntary makes the blood safer I imagine. It's good that you are a negative. (Probably the only negative thing about you.) It also means less danger of Rhesus Factor problems ... negative means the absence of the Rhesus Factor. Your babies are safe if your baby mommy is negative or positive. But if you were Rh+ and your baby mommy was Rh-, it can lead to problems. For hubski readers, here's my understanding of the Rh factor story: Because I was Rh-, and my baby's daddy was Rh+, I had to take some a treatment at five months that would prevent complications. My understanding is this: in an Rh- mother and an Rh+ father, the antibodies to the Rh+ factor multiply with each successive baby. Consequently the lblood of my youngest brother (youngest of five) was at war with the antibodies in my mother's blood, and when he was born, he required a complete blood transfusion. But that was in 1960. Now if there might be an Rh-/+ issue, the mother is given a treatment to reduce the possibility of Rh-related complications. I'll check Wikipedia at some point, or maybe someone else will.
At least in the US, you'll get a T-shirt or a coffee mug, once in a while (at least in Oklahoma). Nothing but cookies, fruit, and juice/tea/coffee in NZ.
Here they have a crapton of snacks and drinks for you to eat - which makes sense given that you've just lost half a liter of blood. Yesterday they had sandwiches! Other than that, you can take a bunch of giveblood.ie pens.