The easy way to save lives is by donating blood. By giving blood, you make the sacrifice that could be the difference between life and death for someone else. Unfortunately, there is a significant National shortage and need for blood and platelet donations.
Different types of blood donations help patients. Platelet donations, in particular, help cancer, trauma, and surgery patients recover and are always needed by area hospitals. Every 15 seconds someone needs platelets which are considered to be a life-saving therapy. According to the Red Cross, “your platelet donation may potentially provide up to 3 single doses that can be used for 3 separate patients, or up to 3 doses that can be used for a single patient”. Research has found that regular blood donation is linked to lower blood pressure and a lower risk for heart attacks. Whole blood donors must wait at least 56 days between donations. Interestingly enough, platelet donors may give every 7 days up to 24 times per year, each platelet donation from start to finish takes about 3 hours.
To become an eligible platelet donor, you cannot have a positive test for hepatitis B or hepatitis C, and female donors with previous pregnancies are tested for the antibody TRALI, which means, transfusion-related acute lung injury and is a rare syndrome causing the lungs to begin to fail within the first six hours of receiving a blood transfusion.
As necessary as blood donations and platelet donations are, I can’t help but ask myself the question, what stops us from donating, is it our day-to-day lives, is it the time that’s needed to schedule an appointment, fear of needles, fear of feeling ill, we seem to place so many obstacles and fail to stop and think about the patients who are in dire need. Life is precious, why wait until it is too late, let us focus on the good instead of focusing on our fears and give those patients and their families the chance at a longer life.
In today’s National blood and platelet shortage, please encourage your friends and family to become regular donors; it is as easy as clicking on the links below for your nearest blood donation centers. Schedule your donation today and help save lives.
American Red Cross
https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/find-drive
City of Hope
https://www.idonateblood4hope.org