On Saturday, I donated blood at the Miller-Keystone Blood Center in Allentown. I have been a fairly regular donor for a number of years. I started out donating with the Red Cross when I was in high school but in recent years, I have started donating with Miller-Keystone because they deliver blood products to the hospitals in my area.
Yet, I never been a uber motivated donor. I have always the kind of donor who would give blood, then when the inevitable phone call would come 56 days later reminding me that I am eligible to give again only then begin to think about when I could next schedule a donation. My husband is much more proactive then I am in that he schedules his next donation as soon as he is finished giving blood that day. Still, I do okay with it. I wish I spent more time in life volunteering but I don’t unfortunately, so I look at donating blood as one thing I can do for others.
While I was sitting in the chair giving my donation, I saw that there was a large television screen in the donation room that listed an honor roll of people who donated 5 gallons or more in their lifetime. The last names that showed on the screen when I looked up started with the letter K. I thought, I should wait and see if I can see our last name, which starts with an N just
my husband donated 5 gallons and I had not realized it. I thought the N’s should be on the screen any second now, but no, there were tons of donors whose last name started with K. Several minutes went by and we were still on the K’s. I know that my Miller Keystone Blood Center is not a small organization but it only supplies to 22 hospitals in eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey.
My point is: based on my experience watching the donor honor role of donors who gave 5 gallons or more—there are a lot of dedicated people who have give blood in my area.
Truthfully, it made me want to up my game. I thought I was doing pretty good, but now I think I could be doing better. (I am super competitive, it isn’t always one of my better qualities).
Five gallons or more of whole blood donations works out to at least 40 donations because when you donate whole blood, you usually only donate one pint at a time (8 pints= 1 gallon so 8 x 5=40)
So Why Donate Blood?:
- The snacks. My blood donation center has so many delicious things to eat when you are done donating, and they make you sit in the canteen for 15 minutes before you are allowed to go home. They have: Nutter-Butters, Oreos, Smart Food Cheddar Popcorn, Veggie Straws, Fig Newtons, Lorna-Doone Shortbread cookies, chocolate milk, coffee, orange juice, sprite, coke, and ice tea. The canteen volunteers are great people and usually are talkative people just looking to make your day better. You are allowed and encouraged to eat as many snacks as you want and you can even take some home if you want.
- You can go home knowing that you did something to help someone else. It makes you feel good.
- If you decide to disobey instructions and drink alcohol within 24 hours of donating, you feel it after one drink. Nuf said, just something to keep in mind if you choose to donate over the weekend.
- Blood products can only come from living human donors. Blood products can’t be 3D printed or manufactured so they are rare and precious. When you donate you are giving a special gift.
- Cancer patients, patients with diseases such as sickle cell anemia, accident victims, and people needing blood transfusions are all people who need blood products. You could be that person at some point in your life. Many people are dependent on blood donations to continue living. This is a gift that we can give to each other.
Today is Mr. Man’s 3rd birthday. It brings me a lot of joy to see him grow up. I want to help other people have future birthdays by promoting blood donation. If you are able, it is a great gift to give.
Why do you donate blood?
Reply in the comments section below.
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