Currently in the Penn-Jersey region, the Red Cross is approximately 39,000 units of blood behind what it should be. This means there is a shortage of blood, which could spell out deadly consequences for anyone in an accident or in need of treatment. This could all be remedied if the people who are eligible to donate, would. However, the Red Cross is having trouble getting people, new and returning donors, to come to their drives.

It is always an excuse.

"Donating makes me feel sick." "I don't like needles." "I don't want to wait that long." "I almost passed out once." All these fall flat on the ears of those of us who donate regularly.

So here I have decided to rebuttal with some excuses to donate blood as soon as possible. At any point in your life, you or your loved one could be in an accident, or need a surgery that requires a blood transfusion. How would you like it if you were not given the best care possible because of a shortage of blood? If you drink enough water, you hardly feel the needle going in, and the actual donation takes about fifteen minutes. Most of your time outside those fifteen minutes would be answering questions to make sure you're eligible to give blood, and that can be shortened even further if you use the online "Rapid pass" the day of. Your blood can be used to save anyone's life, including the little kid with sickle cell who just wants to live to see their ninth birthday. Your body will make more blood, so why do you need to hoard all the excess that your body really is not even using right now? You will always have that warm feeling in your heart that you have saved up to three lives every time you donate. Also, if you download the Red Cross Blood Donor app, you get gifts and badges for each donation. These gifts are often a discount on goodies you were probably going to buy anyways, so it's a nice gesture.

So go download the app, or look on the Red Cross website, and book an appointment at a drive right now. I can assure you there will be at least one within driving distance. If you are in the Penn-Jersey region, there are multiple every single day within our area. If not, look to local businesses to see if they'd like to host a blood drive. Not only would they be saving lives, but it is also a great advertisement for their business. Many regular blood donors find out about certain locations because they are hosting a blood drive. Make sure to drink plenty of water the day of, eat well, don't get up too fast, and have fun saving lives.