Thank you for your answers. The nurse was not busy as I was the only one there and She called me in the moment I walked through the door. The needle was in the plunger and just the needle was disposed off after my blood test not, as like in flue jabs, where the whole thing, plunger and needle comes in a sealed packet and is then disposed off. I think really what I want to know is, can a needle be used more than once or is it impossible in this day and age and I think only a medical person could answer this, although I am very gratefull to anyone taking the trouble to reply, thank you so much, Dorothy.