If you ask someone who their hero is they may say a fictional character, like Superman or Batman. They may say a fireman or policeman who risks their lives everyday to save people by stopping fires and stopping crime, respectively. But sometimes, someone’s hero may be the blood donor that unselfishly gave an hour of their time to save a life. Maybe that person, who said a blood donor was their hero, needed blood themselves or had a family member who received blood in a dire situation. And maybe to that person there is no bigger hero than someone who came in and donated their blood to save a life.
If you’re a blood donor, thank you. If you aren’t, I’m sure you have your reasons. If you’re one of the many Conversational Marketing™ Experts (CMEs) that work so hard to remind people of the importance of donating blood and scheduling their next appointments, thank you! Sometimes we all forget the importance of our job, so I’d like you all to take a moment and thank yourself, thank your coworkers, and thank your supervisors for doing just that, our jobs.
A single blood donation can save as many as three lives. I know you’ve all heard that time and time again, but have you ever sat down and thought about what that really means? Three lives? Three people? Three different occasions where a single blood donation can make a difference. Saving one life, if you ask me, is a pretty big deal, but to think with a single donation, you can save three? Or if you donate a single platelet donation, you’re helping that recipient so much. Did you know that by receiving platelets from a single donor (instead of the six donors/donations it would normally take to acquire enough for a platelet donation from a whole blood donation) that you are helping that patient lessen the chance of a reaction? And with platelets, their shelf life is a tiny five days, that one donation can mean so much to that patient and to that patient’s family.
And those of you that donate double reds, wow and thank you. Not only are you unselfishly giving more of your time, you are helping the blood centers keep a readily available supply of red blood cells to be used in trauma situations and in surgeries. The point I’m trying to make is that it doesn’t matter if you donate a unit of whole blood, or platelets, or even do a double red cell donation, every donation you make saves a life. And to someone you become a hero.