Importance Of Donating Blood
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Health and Wellness

Importance Of Donating Blood

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Importance Of Donating Blood

About a year ago, I decided to donate blood regularly. It is not a big time commitment, and the effort of waking up a little earlier than normal on a Saturday was well worth it. Then, summer came around. I started working more frequently, I went on vacation with my family, and I got out of the habit of donating whenever I became eligible again.

When I started the fall semester, the calls came in from the Oklahoma Blood Institute, every day, to let me know that there was a severe blood shortage in the area and that donors were needed as soon as possible. Since then, I have been on a regular donation schedule and have realized that there are a few things that everyone should know about donating blood, and why it is so important for every able person to donate on a regular basis.

The first and most important step to donating blood is determining whether you are eligible. You must be 18 years of age to donate on your own (16 and 17 year olds can donate with parent permission) and you must weigh at least 110 pounds. This is a safety precaution so that they know you can handle having a quart of blood taken out. It is important that you are not currently taking, or have not recently taken, prescription medication that could interfere with the quality of the blood such as antibiotics, blood pressure medication or recreational drugs. Anyone with a blood disorder -- hemophilia or AIDS, for example -- will not be able to donate. It is also important to be up to date on your vaccinations. 

Once you know that you are eligible, the next step is to schedule an appointment, though clinics will also take walk-ins. By making an appointment, you can eliminate waiting in the clinic for too long and it helps ensure that there are not too many people in the clinic at once.

The process at the clinic is easy and only takes about 30 minutes. First, make sure to bring a photo ID of some kind. They will bring you back to one of the offices to answer a few simple questions about your health and to test your blood from a small prick of the finger. This is to ensure that there aren’t any problems with your blood that could make it dangerous to donate to someone else. This also means that you can have them send you an analysis of your blood work in the mail including cholesterol, iron count, hemoglobin and other important levels to keep up with. It’s like having a check-up without the co-pay.

During the interview process, you will be asked if you would like a t-shirt or if you would like them to take the money that it cost to get that shirt, and donate it to the Global Blood Fund. Make the donation -- you don’t need any more free t-shirts and you aren’t paying for the donation out of pocket and that money is extremely helpful to world-wide efforts to treat life threatening injuries and conditions. 

Once you finish with the screening process, you will sit in a comfortable chair facing some TVs. A registered nurse will scrub your preferred arm with an alcohol wipe and set the needle. From then on you will squeeze a foam handle (similar to a stress ball) to keep blood flowing evenly into the bag. This portion will take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes, depending on how quickly your blood is moving. Then they bandage you up and send you over to a table to have a snack and a drink -- they have some good ones.

There are other options for donation besides the normal whole blood donation, including platelets and plasma. If you are curious about these other options, make sure to ask the clinic staff for more information. Some blood types are in higher demand than others, and the clinic staff will let you know if your blood type is in high demand. If you don’t already know your blood type, it would good to find out for general medical purposes. One donation can save as many as three lives, and it is a minimum commitment in the grand scale of your week, so schedule your appointment to donate blood today! 

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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