Holiday blood donations
@GardenGerty (169568)
United States
December 26, 2006 1:54pm CST
We are going to be going out of town and will miss the blood drive in our city. On our way to visit my brother we will stop at the Red Cross Headquarters an hour away to give blood. New Year's Eve is such a high risk holiday season, especially for young people. I like to think I can help someone this way.
1 person likes this
4 responses
@SimplyJo (1694)
• India
26 Dec 06
hey thats such a wonderful thought. i wonder how many ppl would even think about missing a blood drive.. i really wonder. you are doing a great job,GG. You know i always wanted to donate blood but i'm underweight. Once in my college i dragged all my friends to the blood drive and after filling out the forms, they asked me to step up on the weighing machine and i was only 43 kgs (minimum weight shud be 45 kgs)! my other friends, who were not even interested, cud donate :(
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169568)
• United States
27 Dec 06
Again, I have forgotten my metric conversions. Have you continued to be underweight? Each of my husbands have had trouble gaining weight, but that is not a criteria here. They do a quick test for low iron levels though. I learned that caffeine, especially from tea, leaches iron away. The other thing is fiber with beans binds with iron and can lower the levels. I nearly missed out last time, because I eat lots of beans. We take iron and eat beef for a day or two before donation. I bet you were embarrassed the day you took your friends.
@KrazyKlingon (5005)
• United States
15 Feb 07
It really should not need to be a special holiday occasion to give blood. At a community college I graduated from, I used to be active when the club I was in ran a blood drive every semester. I understand that it was taken over by one of the college deans, but it still runs every semester.
With the medical advances, I am surprised that they have not found any way to manufacture synthetic blood. The reason being, some religions consider it very forbidden to drink blood. As a result, if someone in that religion needed blood, it would be forbidden for that patient to accept a blood transfusion, but synthetic blood that can perform as real blood might be acceptable.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169568)
• United States
16 Feb 07
Actually, I think they do have a synthetic, or blood substitute of some kind. If I find out for sure, I will post a discussion about it too. We did not give just because of the holidays. It is just that we were not going to be able to give as we ususally do, because we were going out of town on a holiday. The need is just more critical during the holidays.
@finlander60 (1804)
• United States
12 Feb 07
I think that is so nice of you to do this. I give blood every time I can. The Red Cross Blood Drive shows up at our town every couple of months, and if it is at all possible I will give then. I would be willing to do what you are doing to do what small part I can to help with the usual shortage. You are to be commended for your actions. I have even managed to get my wife on their donor list, too.
1 person likes this
@cjsmom (1423)
• United States
19 Feb 07
I wish I could donate blood...Years ago I went in to do just that and when I filled out the form they gave you beforehand, the first question was, 'Have you had Hepatitis?'
I asked them what they meant and they said that if I had had Hepatitis at any point in my life, that I couldn't donate; not even to my children because my blood was still tainted with the disease...
In grade school I contracted Hepatitis C, so that was that. It just makes me so mad that I can't even donate to my children if they need it...
