Give blood and stuff.
Posted by: Liz at 9:46 pm, September 26th, 2008
The Australian Red Cross Blood Service are advertising current blood stock as being ‘dangerously low’. That generally doesn’t indicate something good. So, you should go give blood and stuff.
21,000 blood donations are required each week to keep the blood banks at a good level. And considering red cells only have a shelf life of 42 days, it’s something that’s needed constantly.
Looksee what your blood can be used for:
I gave blood for the first time day, it was overall around 4 seconds of pain, and an hour or so off work. That’s a win, right? I’m lucky that my work encourages us to go give blood, seeing as we’re just around the corner from the Red Cross blood bank in the city. But really, if you’re near a blood bank (or one of the mobile ones is in your area), you can do it on your lunch hour.
While I don’t trust a number of organisations enough to give my money to, giving blood is something that costs you only time and they can’t spend your blood on things other than helping people. Sure, they might offer it up to vampires for cash, but that’s fine by me. Especially when there’s food after the whole blood giving process. No one told me about the milkshakes on offer. Not that I had one. But next time I surely will. I’ll be prepared.
Now I just have to wait a little while and I’ll get sent a little donor card that tells me what blood type I am. Hurrah!
September 26th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
YELLO!
September 27th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
I know! They made me yellow! But it’s okay.
September 27th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
PS, is your blog broken?
September 28th, 2008 at 3:06 am
Yes, it is… I don’t know what’s wrong on the server end. Grr!
September 28th, 2008 at 8:38 am
You’re SO right.
I went and gave blood on thursday on a whim, i’ve done it a number of times before but not since february, and only at mobile blood banks.
The actual permanent ones are way cooler for the fact that they have milkshakes, and chairs that lean back rather than portable hospital beds/stretchers.
For some reason I only got 300mL out before my blood stopped pumping for them, but it’s something right? i’m going to have to go back in a few months when I’m right again.
ALSO, if you’re reading this and you’re not Liz and you need another reason to give blood, check out your blood type, if you’re the universal donor (O-) you should give blood, or if you have a rare blood type (mine is semi rare – only 1.5% have it, AB – is only .05%, that’s 1 in 200) you should also go. Not only is O- the universal donor for everyone else, people with O- can only get transfusions with O- blood…