Donating a Bit of Yourself

I'm a blood donor. Have been for years now. I'm not sure what motivated me originally. I've talked to other people at the donor center, and often their donations were prompted by a loved ones' past need for blood, an instance where a life was saved because of the blood donation process. But that's not me. I do it, I guess because it seems like something a responsible member of society should do. It just seems right. And it makes me feel good. I've met a lot of people whose motivations are similar.

I'm not trying to hold myself out as model of righteousness. Donating blood is just the thing I do to give back to society. Plenty of other people do other types of volunteer work. In the grand scheme of things, my small drop in the bucket (no pun intended) isn't a huge commitment. I donate double red cells, a process which uses a machine to extract only red cells, but twice as many as a normal donation. It takes twice as long as a normal donation, but you can only do it roughly half as often. So I think I donate every five months. A normal donation, which most people do, can be safely done I think every two and a half to three months. It's a very small chunk of you life donated, which can translate into an entire lifetime gained by the blood's future recipient.

The first time I ever donated was back in college. The university set up a drive in the student union, and a few friends and I thought it would be a lark to participate. I didn't mind the needles or the process in general, and I liked how I felt afterwards. Plus I learned that my blood type, B-, is the second rarest in the United States, found in only 1.5% of population. AB- is the only type rarer, logging only 0.6% of the population. Knowing how much more difficult it would be for someone with my blood type to get a transfusion I suddenly felt obligated to donate regularly, and hoped that others with my type or other rare types would do the same.

I regularly get calls from the Red Cross now. Their need is severe almost all the time, especially for the rarer types. If you've ever thought about donating, I'd urge you to give it a try. If you've donated in the past and fell out of the habit, I'd request that you get back in. It's a very small gesture with large dividends. At the very least you can learn your blood type, if you don't already know it. To find a donor center near you and schedule an appointment call the Red Cross at 1-800-GIVE-LIFE. Once you're in the system they'll take care of remembering when you're eligible to donate and contact you for a new appointment. It's very easy. If you're looking for a relatively painless (the needle really only barely stings for a split second) way to give back, try donating.