I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but knowledge is power!
I had a very weird, lucid dream the other night. A lucid dream is a dream in which you realize you are actually in a dream and not real life. Once you realize this, you can literally do anything you want. Having one is an extremely awe-inspiring and mind-blowing experience, let me tell you. In my dream I found myself on top of an enormous skyscraper perched at the very edge of the roof. As I surveyed the people on the ground scurrying around and many cars bustling around the streets below, I don’t know how it happened, but I had a revelation that I was, in fact, in a dream. I couldn’t tell you why, but I proceeded to jump off of the enormous superstructure and plunged to the streets below. Just when I hit the pavement of the underlying street, the ground became a trampoline, and I found myself bouncing up into the air roaring with laughter as I jumped around my fictitious cityscape. If I found myself knowing I was in a dream every time I was actually dreaming, maybe I would have more of these pleasant experiences based upon that knowledge.
The reason I bring any of this up to you is the fact that usually people conform to what they know,especially when it comes to the topic of donating blood. Usually, I find that when I am talking with a first-time blood donor, they can be very apprehensive to donating since many folks out there are taking medications for one reason or another. In other cases, many diabetic people do not know that they can actually donate in most cases, depending on their situation and treatment, of course.
At Incept the job of a Conversational Marketing™ Expert (CME) is not just about scheduling appointments. We instead aim to provide the absolute best possible customer service to our donors in the form of friendly education!
I didn’t know I could still donate!
Sometimes people just need to be informed and presented with the facts. Here are three common reasons why people think they can’t donate and why they actually still can:
- I have diabetes. Unless otherwise informed by a doctor, if you are a diabetic, you still can donate in most scenarios! As long as you have it under control through non-bovine-derived insulin shots, oral medication or even diet, chances are you still can donate a whole blood donation.
- I am currently taking prescribed medication. Most medications that aren’t an antibioticwill not defer you for a whole blood donation. In fact, when it comes to medications, it usually is the reason why those medications were prescribed in the first place that would be the real determining factor if you could donate or not. Mood stabilizers (Prozac, Zoloft, etc.) will also not defer you in most known cases either.
- I had a low iron level count when I tried to donate last time. Sometimes when a blood donor’s vital statistics are being analyzed, they can read a little off due to any number of variables – such as outside temperature, physical activity levels of the donor that day, or even something as simple as diet! That is why, if you are a blood donor that does not have a history of being chronically anemic, then a diet high in iron is a choice remedy.
Most of the time when talking with people facing these issues you can always hear the proverbial “light turn on” when they understand they might still be able to donate. Frequently the donor is even willing to give it another shot all because we educated them in a friendly manner.
When it comes to donating blood, everyone is different. If you or someone you know is unsure if you can donate or not, most blood banks do have medical personnel that can tell you definitively. If you are still in doubt, the best thing to do is contact your doctor or heath practitioner.
What are some other examples where having knowledge and education can change someone’s mind about doing something?