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

Donate Blood - Become a Hero

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.

tnbutterfly - Mary

About tnbutterfly - Mary, BSN

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Specializes in Anesthesia, ICU, PCU.

Totally support this cause! I'm a q.8.week donor who just reached my 3 gallon mark (24 lifetime donations) and I hope to keep em coming

Specializes in Peds, Med-Surg, Disaster Nsg, Parish Nsg.
Totally support this cause! I'm a q.8.week donor who just reached my 3 gallon mark (24 lifetime donations) and I hope to keep em coming

GREAT!!!! Thank you for being a dedicated donor.

i used to donate blood regularly, until i started working in healthcare and saw how much of it is wasted on geriatrics trying to cheat death for another few years of existing and sucking up resources in a nursing home.

Specializes in ED, Pedi Vasc access, Paramedic serving 6 towns.

I was a faithful donor for a while, that is until the red cross started grossly understaffing and I had an argument with one of the phlebotomists.

I had already waited at least 1.5 hours to donate blood at a drive. I got up on the table and waited my turn. I watched the phlebotomist with gloves on removed another persons needle from their arm, put the 2x2 on and send them on their way. It was my turn, the same phlebotomist gathered the supplies needed to insert the needle in my arm, and without changing her gloves from the guy she just pulled the needle out of. I asked her to change her gloves as I had just watched her wear them to removed a needle and place a 2x2 on the other person with the same pair on. Instead of just doing what I asked, she argued that there was no visible soiling of the current gloves. In my mind I was like, uh yea no VISIBLE soiling, but I bet there are plenty of small droplets on them! She argued with me and finally changed her gloves, which was smart, because I was about to just get up and leave.

I will never donate blood to the American Red Cross for this reason, as they apparently do not offer infection control training to their employees!! Not to mention the understaffing and ridiculous wait times! If I choose to donate blood again, it will be to a hospital that does their own collections!

Annie

Yes, I donate and so do the kids in my HS. We have 3 Blood Drives a year and last year (my first year as a SN) we hit Silver Status for the first time in over 12 years, meaning greater than 40% of eligible kids donated.

The kids go on the ALIX machine and really feel good about donating. The education provided to the kids is invaluable.

i used to donate blood regularly, until i started working in healthcare and saw how much of it is wasted on geriatrics trying to cheat death for another few years of existing and sucking up resources in a nursing home.

Those nasty old people. I wonder if they paid off the doctors who ordered the blood?

We don't use American Red Cross. Not sure why. We have these guys come.

The reps are good with the kids. We have them speak at the senior SADD meetings, then the SADD kids recruit other kids, and the sign up is in my office.

They also award small scholarships. My most helpful senior last year got $500.00

New York Blood Center

Specializes in Critical care.

I've had a couple of bad experiences with the Red Cross. My area has a different group that keeps the blood local. I donate when I can, but my issue is they cut the hours of my local place. It is now only open 1 day a week and the day alternates each week and is only open for a few hours. I don't have the time to drive over an hour one way to one of the other centers and it seems like my schedule never works out for me to make it to my local one to donate. I get so frustrated when I get emails and phone calls that try to guilt people into donating when the supplies ar critically low. I might just answer one of these days and tell them to stop calling me until they have more reasonable donating hours.

Specializes in psych.

I donated for the first time in December. It was a good experience for me, so I'll gladly go again.

I'd like to but they won't take mine...

Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

I've donated once. Too many times I've tried, my H&H was too low for them. Then, I got a tattoo and had to wait a year. Then, I had to get my ears repierced and had to wait another year. And now I'm on hold because of a needlestick.

My facility runs its own blood drives and keeps the products in house.