While closing up a sharps container which was overflowing, I punctured my thumb. I had no idea which patient that syringe had been in. I was tested for Hep B Surface Antigen and found positive. I have worked for 36 years as an RN and am currently teaching RN students.

I was given another persons blood while giving plasma. First they take a pint, spin the plasma out & put your blood minus the plasma back into your body. At least that's what supposed to happen. Not with me, back in 1979 they put someone who had Hep C, their blood back in me! Now I suffer from Hepatitis C. Something I never asked for. 13 years ago I found out I was carrying this blood-borne disease, it's been devastating to me & my wife. I have some good days, & some bad days. I should have never got this, now I have a life long gun loaded and pointed at me. I hope this changes, nobody should ever get something they didn't ask for or deserve. This should never happen, & is a travesty. We supposedly live in one of the most advanced countries in the world, yet this terrible death warrant still exist! When will it change? I hope the people involved in this site can make a change for the better of all humanity & stop the suffering!

I've been in nursing almost 25 years and all but three of my fellow nurses have been stuck. One has been in nursing 30 years and last week she got stuck drawing blood. The arm moved quickly when her needle hit a vein and the needle popped out. She was so keen to protect the patient that she unconsciously grabbed the needle. I can't tell you how anxious she is (we all are) waiting for the results of the tests. Thank you. Babara Connelly

terrible, terrible...my family and I went into deep depression until we learned that I was safe. this is important work you are doing!

I was lucky that with two accidents I did not get a disease. OSHA fined our facility for not using the safety needles requested. Please continue to report facilities that do not provide the safest needles possible.

I never went to work worried, because I didn't realize the risk involved in using unsafe needles. Now, with hepatitis B, I advise all nurses to stand up and demand the manufacturers supply us their safest needle products, or else go to jail! Lois Shakley

Geez, it hurt like Hades! The lady had to poke about several times & jiminy it hurt and I felt like ripping the stupid needle out of her hand & doing it myself! Thank heavens for a forum like this, where regular people can vent their irritations at getting stabbed repeatedly for a few ounces of blood. Heck, lets do something about this!!!

The industry has been in need of products that allow us to know where the needle is before we put the Vacutainer tube on.

My veins are hard to locate...and, every time I get my blood drawn, they have to stick me 2 or 3 times. Sometimes I bleed internally and big black and blue blotches show up, and they are painful. On one occasion my right arm needed 3 sessions of physical therapy to dislodge the blood caused by the nurse putting the needle right through the vein when taking my blood. I'm so glad there are ways to prevent this sort of thing for people like me. Susan Beckner, Social Worker

As a phlebotomist I've been fortunate to have been stuck only a few times in the course of my career, and none of those accidents contained dangerous infected blood. Safety devices on needles have been enormously helpful to protect all of us that draw blood.