Donate Blood - Become a Hero

Happy New Year!!! Was one of your New Year’s Resolutions to save a life? How about the opportunity to save 3 lives by donating just one unit of blood? Nurses Announcements Archive Article

Since 1970, National Blood Donor Month has been observed in January to not only honor blood and platelet donors, but also to help increase donations during the winter months.

Blood is traditionally in short supply during the winter months due to the holidays, travel schedules, inclement weather and illness. January, in particular, is a difficult month for blood centers to collect blood donations. A reduction in turnout can put our nation's blood inventory at a critical low. As nurses, we see the life-saving effects of blood or blood products for critically ill patients.

As one blood donor said,

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It only takes once sitting in a hospital, praying that your loved one will live through the day, to know how thankful you are for every single thing done to help them," she said. "Donating blood is a simple gift that I can make that may help up to three people live another day. That makes me feel like a hero.

Stop and take one to two hours out of your life to donate blood. Be a hero and give the gift of life today.

You're a nurse so you deal with pricks all the time! What's one more?

Annie

Especially the little ones. The big pricks are harder to handle.

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Specializes in ICU.
Especially the little ones. The big pricks are harder to handle.

I'm pretty good at handling pricks of all sizes... just saying. :whistling:

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Specializes in ED, School Nurse.
I'm pretty good at handling pricks of all sizes... just saying. :whistling:

Ba-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!! :laugh:

My daughter received a blood transfusion when she was a 26-weeker preemie. I have always donated, and will try again soon. I stopped because my dad's cousin has Creutzfeld-Jacobs disease and according to the Red Cross web site, having "any relative" with that disease excludes me. But I talked to the donation people here at my school when they were here last time, and they think I will be OK to donate, they would just have to clear it with their medical director.

I have never had any issues with American Red Cross infection control procedures, and I have been donating blood for 20+ years.

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I'm pretty good at handling pricks of all sizes... just saying. :whistling:

*points to my eyes and points to yours*

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Great article.

Can't donate due to living in Europe for >6 weeks during the 1980's where I might have been exposed to Mad Cow disease.

Persons who have spent long periods of time in countries where "mad cow disease" is found are not eligible to donate. This requirement is related to concerns about variant Creutzfeld Jacob Disease (vCJD). Learn more about vCJD and donation.

Blood Donor Eligibility: Blood Pressure, Pregnancy, Disease & More | American Red Cross

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Specializes in ORTHO, PCU, ED.
Especially the little ones. The big pricks are harder to handle.

I think I would have to call that needle they use to get blood a big prick. Doesn't get much bigger'n that. I can handle the discomfort though if it'll help someone else who's in a lot more discomfort than me probably.

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I think I would have to call that needle they use to get blood a big prick. Doesn't get much bigger'n that. I can handle the discomfort though if it'll help someone else who's in a lot more discomfort than me probably.

Oh. Right. Needles.

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Thanks so much for posting this!

I always encourage people to donate blood and always try to do so myself when I can (my iron is usually too low) because when my brother was in a gas explosion, he had multiple surgeries during his three month stay at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, GA. At the time, the doctors and my family did not know that he had Von Willebrand disease so he would go through so much blood every surgery until they were able to find the cause of the uncontrolled bleeding. We held two blood drives during this time and had over 90 donors at each event!

I am very thankful for everyone who showed up and gave at our blood drives, and I will always encourage others to keep giving (and keep trying to donate myself).

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could be a 16 year old kid who got into a major car crash.

... by texting on her phone instead of paying attention to the road?

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... by texting on her phone instead of paying attention to the road?

You're right. That clearly is deserving of no transfusions. Crappy teenage girl.

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Specializes in Med/Informatics.

After being too young, then not weighing enough, THEN having to wait post tattoos, I was ecstatic to donate. And then I passed out two minutes into it. :sniff:

So, looks like no more donations for me. At least not for a while. I've never had a problem with needles before so I'm unsure of what caused it.

Wonderful to hear about everyone who can! Such a great thing to do.

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Specializes in NICU.

It's a great thing to be able to donate blood. I wish they'd update their arcane policies, however. If people in England lived by their rules, there would not be any blood for anyone over there to get any. And their stigmatism against gay men who are sexually active is abhorrent.

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