Methods, devices, and kits for creating bloodstream access utilizing a vessel wall traversing device shaped like a blunt-ended nail with a hollow shank and a head of a larger diameter than the shank. The device is inserted in a vessel wall with the shank traversing an opening in the vessel with the blunt end being positioned exterior to the outer surface of the vessel and the head of the device abutting the inner surface of the vessel at the opening. The portion of the shank that projects outwards from the vessel wall is connected to one end of a flexible cannula such that the other end of the cannula can be used to access blood within the vessel.
