Blood Initiation Ceremony

The beating of drums fill the air, and the air seems to pulsate with every sound that reverberates through the bodies of the people assembled. They crowd around two girls. One sits trembling, but willingly, on a chair, waiting for what would happen next. The other comes upon her, and binds her arm tightly. As her right arm pales from the lack of blood, the other comes up again, now with a needle in her hand. She holds the needle at the elbow, and suspends it there for a few long-drawn, agonising moments. It doesn't seem like she'd move it, then suddenly with a swift but small thrust the needlepoint enters the skin. A liquid, darker than crimson, fills the tube, and the crowd erupts with chants and cheers. The ceremony is completed, at least for the girl with the needle. Now it's the other's turn.

Well, it didn't really happen that way, though it does sound mystical right? ;> But I feel like I've gone through an initiation of sorts by doing something that doctors normally do - the drawing of blood (technically called a venesection, from vene- for veins, and section for section - what else?). I've always shied away from doing this, instead standing at the side and see doctors, nurses or medical assistants execute the procedure seemingly effortlessly. So when I realised that we were going to learn how to take blood on Monday, it was hard not to get excited about it.

It's actually harder than it looks. Poking a needle into someone needs quite a lot of willpower, at least for the first time, and there's a lot of theory and rules to follow before, during and after the procedure. I was feeling all nervous and unsure of how to proceed, even with the numerous demonstrations, but I did it! On the first try too!! There was a certain sense of… let’s say, release, when I finally poked the needle into poor Caryn’s arm and saw the blood seeping into the syringe. And when I became Caryn’s patient, I was completely calm, even when she panicked and had to prick me twice, in both arms. I didn’t even really feel the pain of the prick. I attribute that to the elation and adrenaline…

The whole procedure is, to me, sort of like an initiation ceremony – we’ve been inducted into the unwritten list of doctors and student doctors who can legally and knowingly draw blood. Now, instead of just standing by, we can volunteer our services and know that we wouldn’t be putting others in relative risk. Caryn and I are “blood sisters” now, just because we helped each other through the motions. We are joined by the drawing of blood.

So, who wants me to take their blood?