1 pint = 3 lives saved....you have it in you!

hey everyone!

      So this post is a little different because it is about something I did here last week and also something I feel very strongly about. Blood Donation! So here is what happened...I was watching lecture one day when I got an urgently marked email from the school that said blood donors needed. So being a religious blood donor I read the email and come to find out there was a patient at the hospital in Roseau that needed surgery but was in dire need of platelets first. This patient had O type blood and with O blood being rare in Dominica the hospital and the 5th semester students working at PMH reached out to all the O blood types in the Ross Community...Lucky for me I'm O+ so me and Kyle hoped on the bus with a bunch of fellow donors and went to Roseau. We were screened and then donated a pint of blood, then we were told to sit and rest while they brought over crackers and a drink...so I donate blood often in the states and I'm used to my cranberry juice or OJ following a donation, a quick 5 minute sit eat some cookies and on my way I go. I've got it down to a science but this time was a little different...the drink they gave us was called VitaMalt a Vitamin B beverage..it was thick and cold and very dark brown, I took one sip thinking it was like a soda and it didn't go so well...it tasted very...Healthy like I was drinking my iron source for the week. Well I passed my VitaMalt over to Kyle b/c he drinks anything drank a big bottle of water and was told not to move for 30 minutes...30 minutes! What are you crazy me ha well I got yelled at a few times for getting up too soon because they were worried but the people at the blood bank were the kindest people who cared about our safety and comfort the entire day. I just wanted to thank every single fellow O+/O- that took the trip to Roseau to donate when asked on a whim...I know everyone is busy but thank you for taking the time to give to help save a life you are all very special people :-)

Many of you probably don't know I gave blood for the first time when I was 17 @ my high school. I was very excited to put that sticker on my shirt that said I gave blood and I wore my sticker with pride..I learned some things about giving blood and I am going to share them with you....

1) It's painless yes I said it...NO PAIN (not like anything else we tell ourselves where pain is gain... in this case NO PAIN = Save 3 lives :-) )
2) It's quick...in my case really quick but everyone is different but start to finish (including the question portion) prob. about 45 minutes (thats less time then one TV show people!)
3) Platelets that are needed for cancer patients only have a shelf life of 5 days so platelets are constantly in need
4) You can donate blood every 56 days
5) less than 38% of the US population is eligible to give blood
6) 5 million people in the US need blood transfusions every year (thats one person every 2 seconds) and the only way they get blood is from donors like YOU
7) 1 pint saves 3 lives (thats 3 for 1 for all you bargin hunters out there!)
8) If you start donating at 17 and give every 56 days till you are 76 then you potentially helped save more than 1,000 lives :-)

So enough of me on my soap box but I just wanted to share a few things about donating blood so if you never thought to give...give it a try...and if you donate already..I just want to say a big THANK YOU!! For all the past, present, and future lives that will be saved by a blood donor like YOU :-)

*most of the facts were taken from the American Red Cross Blood Donation website

K guys...Mini on Monday wish me luck I will certainly need it..

Till next time....