Three years ago this month, I almost died. All the medical expertise available to me could not save my life - without the availablility of blood products. I was lucky, I only used about 6 products to save my life.
Every day, I'm thankful for the people who donated. The man (I don't know his name, but I do know it's a he) working to blood storage room at our local hospital who noticed we only had 2 or 3 units of my blood type and asked if he should call our surrounding hospitals to obtain more, the other hospitals who sent their supply so my life might be saved. I'm grateful that our hospital system uses a central supply system so blood products can be easily tranported between hospitals to meet needs.
Blood donation has taken on a new meaning to me. When I donate, I wonder who will recieve my blood. Will they think it's as strange as I did? Will they silently thank me as I did to those before me? One year after receiving my transfusion, I organized my first blood drive. I still have 5 more to sponser before I will feel my debt is paid.
January is Blood Donation Month. Please donate. If you can't donate, encourage others to donate or volunteer at a local blood drive. Better yet, organize your own.
Please pass the word! You never know when it will be your life saved. I never expected that it would be mine.
http://www.redcross.org/article/0,1072,0_497_2144,00.html
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5 comments:
I give blood every 3 months actually. Thanks for posting this!
Any pal of JT's is a pal of mine!
My dad was very dedicated to giving blood and I'm so ashamed to say that I've never done it myself. This is something I need to find the time to do, sooner than later. Thanks for the push.
How difficult is it to put together a blood drive? I'd like to do it, but I'm not sure how to get started.
Great reminder. I had to get transfused time and again during what should have been a routine surgery. I'm very thankful for the blood I got, too!
Hi Kristen :) Glad you started a blog. And a great topic to post about. I try to donate everytime the drive come to the med school, but honestly, it make me SO SICK everytime I do it. I am such a lightweight lol
I need to do this.
My excuse used to be that I was afraid of needles. After three epidurals I think that fear is pretty well dismissed.
Great post, thank you.
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