Saturday, August 1, 2009

Give Blood -- It's the Gift of Life


Updated 3/2017-- all links (except to my own posts) removed as many no longer active. and it was easier than checking each one. 

The American Red Cross called the other night to ask me to come in and give blood.  They reserves are low. 
I have been remiss in giving this past year, but gave this past Wednesday.  I tend to have a problem with iron deficiency anemia if I give as often as they would like.   Over the years I have learned that I am better off if I only give a couple of times a year rather than every 56 days.

Full eligibility guidelines for donors are available here.  In general, a donor
* must be healthy (fell well and can perform normal activities)
* be at least 17 years old or 16 years old if allowed by state law
* weigh at least 110 pounds
* not have donated whole blood in the last 8 weeks (56 days)

Information on the ARC’s website states
Every minute of every day, someone needs blood. That blood can only come from a volunteer donor, a person like you who makes the choice to donate. There is no substitute for your donation.
When you make a blood donation, you join a very select group. Currently only 3 out of every 100 people in America donate blood.

Join me in giving blood.  You’ll be giving life to someone.

Related posts:
Iron Deficient Anemia (June 15, 2007)
The Gift of Life (November 18, 2007)

3 comments:

Bardiac said...

It feels a little weird to tell an MD this, but... as a regular blood donor, I find that if I take a women's vitamin with iron, for a couple days ahead, I hit the iron mark just fine. If I don't, I'm just a tad too low to give. I don't feel different either way, and giving blood is important to me, so I take the vitamin with iron.

rlbates said...

Bardiac, thanks for the tip. I have tried that, but find the iron hard on my stomach. Or maybe I'm not taking the "right" kind. :)

Bardiac said...

I should have known you'd have thought of it already. Sorry it doesn't work for you.