scar.tissue.

My competitive side is being challenged right now, and i'm not sure i'll win. I have four more platelet donations to get in before the end of the year to make the maximum number of 24/year. I've never made it before because something always seems to go wrong. Last year, I had two left when this happened. This year isn't looking too much better. First of all, i keep getting stuck by the new techs. After several misses, i started requesting l and k, the two techs who have the best track record with my draw line. That seemed to smooth things down, but last week when i went in, neither of them were there- they were both on the blood mobile. So my draw line crashed, and i got sent home, still with four to go. Today. Same thing. Except l was there, and stuck me not once, but twice on the draw side. The good news is that she was able to determine what the problem was: My arms have been poked at so much that i've built up a ridiculous amount of scar tissue. When they go into that vein and push right through it, some scar tissue can get picked up, which blocks the needle and causes the access pressure to drop. This doesn't have to mean it's over- they can strip the tube, moving the scar tissue along, but because of my super high platelet count, my blood starts to clot right away, creating another barrier at the tip of the needle. By the time they strip the tube and get rid of the scar tissue, the clot's formed, and the show's over. This is highly annoying. Grrrr...