When donating blood, how big is the needle and how bad does it hurt?
Some of these answers you’re getting are ridiculous. Not to mention they’re probably confusing you, since some people are saying it’s a butterfly needle and some are saying it’s the size of your pinky finger. For the record, neither of those comparisons are true… ANYway, here’s a straight, sincere answer for ya: they are a little larger than a vaccine needle. As far as pain, it depends on a few things. One of them is your pain tolerance, of course. Another is how deep the veins are on your arm. Look at the spot (on the inside of the elbow) where they draw blood. Can you see a thick, blue vein? If so, then obviously that vein is pretty close to the skin and the needle won’t go in as far. If you can’t see it, it may be a little more painful just because they have to slide the needle in further. Mind you, I just gave blood for the first time today and the vein they draw from was not visible on my arm; they had to find it by touching for it. And yes, when they inserted the needle it burn
