Last weekend I went to give blood at one of the local pop up places which appears every couple of months. There are loads of different places that appear around the area I live in but I find one in particular better because it is on a Sunday and easy enough for me to walk to from home should I need to.
I first gave blood back in February of this year. It was something which I had wanted to do for a very long time - in fact I wanted to do it since I was old enough to at 18 but I just never got around to it. Plus it is only the last 12 - 18 months they have started to offer a Sunday at the particular place I wanted to go to. I went along in February after filling in the form and everything online and was able to give blood for the first time, however because of the crappy veins I have inherited (thanks mum, granddad) - they didn't get a full donation because they had to use a side vein in my arm. I was however determined not to give up and when I got the invitation just after I got back from Florida for Sunday 30th I was determined to go again and give it another go.
I went along and hoped and hoped. I had been drinking lots of water all week because I know that can have an effect on how good your veins are or not. I cant tell you how happy I was when it all went smoothly and I was able to give a full donation without any fuss!
Giving blood is one of those weird things, I have known I have always wanted to be a blood donor. Blood is one of things I often think we all take for granted. We wouldn't think twice about expecting to receive blood should we need it if we ever went in for surgery but that blood has to come from somewhere. I haven't personally ever been in the sort of situation where I needed to have any blood given to me but about 15 years ago at the young age of 42 my dad had to have surgery on his heart, quite complicated surgery which involved some complications where he was bleeding and if they hadn't had blood available during the surgery... well... I knew there and then how important giving blood would be. Like I say we would all expect a surgeon to automatically use it if needed (dependant on religious beliefs of course) but we wouldn't think twice about it.
I am quite happy to donate what I would say is a small amount of something which - lets face it, my body is going to replace anyway - to help someone else. Who knows what the blood I donate could do? In fact I love the feeling that I am helping someone else, someone I don't even know or will never even meet but just another person, I have been thinking about other kinds of donation. There is something called component donation which you can do as often as every 2 weeks. Although there is only 24 donation places around the UK there is one local to me. I think when I get a car this is something I will defiantly be thinking about. There is also bone marrow donation which is something I haven't really taken much time to look at but I am always exploring ways that little me in my little bubble can help out. I'm not one to go all religious on you but God put us all on this earth and he gave us the tools to help each other out. If I can do something as little as donating something like blood, plasma or even bone marrow then why not?
Do you donate blood? If you would like to know more about donating blood head over to www.blood.co.uk to register and find your local donation centre.
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