LifeSource Blood Services is hosting several blood drives this month in the Chicagoland area. It’s summertime, which is a time of year when it gets hard to track down regular donors, yet the need for blood never stops. If you are physically able to give blood (over 110 pounds, older than 17, not pregnant and don’t have a condition that you know makes you ineligible), please consider giving.
I weigh 120 pounds and giving blood isn’t easy for me. I talk to people larger than I am, especially men, who report never having a second’s discomfort. They don’t experience light-headedness, weakness, stomach cramping or nausea. Nope, not a bit of it. I envy them.
So why do I give blood every two months when I risk all these symptoms every time? I think it’s because giving blood is an absolutely guaranteed way to save a life. If your blood tests as safe, you can be certain that you are helping at least one person and maybe up to three. When I give blood, I don’t feel like a failure. When I give blood, I feel like my life matters and that feeling, however fleeting, is worth a lot to me.
Anybody else?
Me, I pass out.
Good for you for going every two months. I go, but nowhere near that reliably.