I'm up on my soap box!

I had mentioned in my previous blog that I was going to donate blood on Tuesday.
I know there are a lot of people in this world - heck,even in my own family - who are unable to donate because they are on medications that make them no longer eligible to do so.

But I firmly believe that if a person is able to donate, they ought to give it a try at least once.
Yes, it's yucky sitting there with a big needle in your arm as you squeeze out that pint, but
since my Hubby has been on the receiving end of the blood donation scenario, we know just how
blessed a thing this is that there are people in the world who do so.

Hubby has a rare blood type. When he needed 6 pints, the blood center had to scour their network to find people in their files who had the same type and call them to donate so that he could receive it. And even then, they had to type and cross-match to be sure his body wouldn't reject it.

In watching this process take place, I also realized that when you donate, they fill the bag with a pint of blood, and have a little extra left in the tube that goes from your arm to the bag so that they can do the type and cross-match from what is in the tube so that the receiving patient will get a complete pint. I found that fascinating and appreciate all of the thought that goes into the whole process.

Those 6 people may never meet my hubby, but they saved his life. And all it took was the will to give up 30 minutes of their day to donate and then go on with their normal lives.

I try to donate every time there is a blood drive at work. And I'm glad to see they have increased the number of visits they make to my work. The rule is you can donate every 6 weeks, and they tend to show up every six weeks lately. I like that.

I know there will come a day when I can no longer give. The older I get, odds are that my blood pressure will start raising because this simply runs in my family. But until that happens, I want to take that opportunity to subtly make a difference in people's lives. It's worth it.

One very major perk is that they offer gourmet cookies to all donors! I am so in love with their Cherry Chip cookies! Yum! Who could resist that?

Okay, I'll step off my soap box now. But I do hope that my little tome will encourage somebody to think about joining the ranks of regular blood donors!