Why I donate
Tags: Misc
If you follow me on Twitter or 4Square you have probably seen me check-in at Long Island Blood Services. For those of you wondering it's not because I am sickly. I am there for my regular platelet donation. Some of you may also be wondering why I donate, or better yet, why I donate so often (every 2 weeks - and contrary to what I joking say I will not end up looking like SpongeBob SquarePants in the SpongeBob movie - a shriveled up sponge).
It all started about 10 years ago when my youngest son needed a blood transfusion within hours of being born. Needless to say the first thing that popped into my mind was "Will the transfusion be safe?" It turns out there are many checks to make sure the blood supply is safe. One of those checks, aside from testing the blood itself, is a more stringent requirement as to who is eligible to donate. To over simplify it the NY Blood Center only accepts donations from people with the least risk factors for disease, etc. More on this in a bit. Needless to say I lead a boring life - no smoking, drinking, drugs, etc.
The reason I decided to blog about this is because my mother-in-law was admitted to the hospital last week after complaining of not feeling well. I won't go into the details but suffice to say her doctors are stupid and she is a bad patient. She should be coming home soon but not before she took 5 pints of whole blood and one unit of platelets. I am surprised her low oil light didn't come on when making turns.
So back to the reason I donate. I do it because people I love have needed this life saving commodity at one time. Think of it as paying it forward.
With a smaller pool of people to draw from (yes, the pun was intended) because of the eligibility requirements it is even more critical that people who can donate do so. Hopefully my post will convince some of you to take the time to donate - even if it's just a pint of red blood cells (It took at least 6 people to donate enough blood for my mother-in-law)
You never know when you or someone you love will need this life saving gift.
*An excerpt from an NY Blood Center email
If you follow me on Twitter or 4Square you have probably seen me check-in at Long Island Blood Services. For those of you wondering it's not because I am sickly. I am there for my regular platelet donation. Some of you may also be wondering why I donate, or better yet, why I donate so often (every 2 weeks - and contrary to what I joking say I will not end up looking like SpongeBob SquarePants in the SpongeBob movie - a shriveled up sponge).
It all started about 10 years ago when my youngest son needed a blood transfusion within hours of being born. Needless to say the first thing that popped into my mind was "Will the transfusion be safe?" It turns out there are many checks to make sure the blood supply is safe. One of those checks, aside from testing the blood itself, is a more stringent requirement as to who is eligible to donate. To over simplify it the NY Blood Center only accepts donations from people with the least risk factors for disease, etc. More on this in a bit. Needless to say I lead a boring life - no smoking, drinking, drugs, etc.
The reason I decided to blog about this is because my mother-in-law was admitted to the hospital last week after complaining of not feeling well. I won't go into the details but suffice to say her doctors are stupid and she is a bad patient. She should be coming home soon but not before she took 5 pints of whole blood and one unit of platelets. I am surprised her low oil light didn't come on when making turns.
So back to the reason I donate. I do it because people I love have needed this life saving commodity at one time. Think of it as paying it forward.
With a smaller pool of people to draw from (yes, the pun was intended) because of the eligibility requirements it is even more critical that people who can donate do so. Hopefully my post will convince some of you to take the time to donate - even if it's just a pint of red blood cells (It took at least 6 people to donate enough blood for my mother-in-law)
You never know when you or someone you love will need this life saving gift.
*An excerpt from an NY Blood Center email
We thought
you'd like to know...
that the PLATELETS you donated on April 21, 2012 were sent to the following hospital(s):
| Product | Hospital | City | State |
| platelets | Columbia-Presbyterian/New York Presbyterian | New York | New York |
| platelets | Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center | Patchogue | New York |
On behalf of the cancer patient, accident
victim or other person with a
blood clotting problem whom you may have helped, THANK
YOU.
Some facts about blood and blood donations
Blood
Facts (The most important fact
is about 3/4 of the way down "--There is no substitute for human
blood.")
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