Tuesday, August 19, 2008

A Guilt Trip From Me to You

I donated blood today and the volunteers practically fell to their knees in gratitude when I walked in the door.  Apparently their supply of my blood type, O negative, was dangerously low.  It was less than 45 minutes from start to finish, I got to catch up on my twittering and blog reading with no interruptions from my offspring and when I was done I got free juice and cookies.  Score!

So, when was the last time you donated blood?  You can give whole blood every 56 days and platelets much more often than that.  It's a super-easy way to make a huge difference in someone's life.  (Or to help buy your way into heaven if you are old and mean.)

Find out where your local blood center is and make an appointment to donate.

Pass it on.

7 comments:

Shelly... said...

Damn, you are the 2nd person THIS week to harp on me about giving blood. Well, since I'm old and your mean and we will probably need all the help we can muster getting into heaven I will try and donate! The local blood banks have to bribe us in Vegas. I think right now some of them are giving away free show tickets.

Jason, as himself said...

As much as I would like to donate blood, I am not allowed. I'm gay and I've been HIV- all my life, and I've been a monogomous relationship for 12 years

Hmmm. I wonder if straight people who have multiple sex partners are allowed to donate.

EmBee said...

"Or to help buy your way into heaven if you are old and mean."

I LOVE this line!

I KNOW, I KNOW, I've been MEANING to donate, really I HAVE! I promise I will soon and you can keep me honest, okay?

Unknown said...

Sadly, the last time I donated blood was in HS at a blood drive we had in the gym. I actually passed out, so I've pretty well steered clear of doing it again. There's no chance of that happening now (as I weigh significantly more than I did back then AND I never forget to eat frequently) so I should put it on the to-do list. Thank you for the reminder.
~Christy

Unknown said...

Okay, I just read Jason's comment and--are you serious? You can't donate blood if you're gay b/c you "might" have HIV? That is C-R-A-Z-Y! I'm floored by, that...stupidity never ceases too amaze me sometimes.
~Christy
http://www.heavyonthecaffeine.com

Katy said...

Shelly, Embee & C, glad I could remind you. I've been slack about donating since I did a course of Accutane (can't donate while you're on it) so I figured blogging it might help me remember and get back on course.

Jason, I feel stupid. In spite of the eleventy-million questions they ask I forgot about the rules that prevent gay men from donating. C, It's outdated and there are people trying to get the rules changed. If you have had any sexual contact with a gay man or interveneous drug user you can't donate and there are some other stipulations for people who have lived in certain areas outside the US. I think it prevents a lot of perfectly healthy people from donating but until the rules change, blood banks have their hands tied.

Unknown said...

Thank you for donating and reminding others to donate too. One unit of blood can save three lives.
My grandson is a leukemia survivor. There were times when he needed blood and platlets often. There were times when there weren't any available.
The guidelines are strict for a reason, especially when quite a few of the recipients have compromised immune systems. If you traveled to Great Briton during certain years, you can never give blood products due to the mad cow disease.
For those that can give, it's the only gift that money can't buy...the gift of life.
My arms look like I'm a junkie from giving.