Give Blood

A million apologies, but I need to get on my soapbox for a moment.

With the holidays approaching I would like to implore everybody who is eligable to donate blood. The revelry of Christmas and the New Year produce quite a bit of drunken accidents, and cold and icy conditions do a lot of damage on their own. I saw recently in the Seattle PI that it takes 900 donors A DAY to keep the blood centers adaquately stocked in Puget Sound. I hope that that many people donate, but the realist in me believes that that many do not.

Now, if you have Type O blood (45% of the US does), it becomes even more critical that you donate. Why? Two main reasons:

1) You are a universal donor. It does not matter of the recipient is A, B, AB, or O, your blood will be accepted by the person receiving it. So, ignoring Rh factor, your blood will benefit all who arrive at the ER. That's a great thing.

2) If the recipient is type O, they can ONLY RECEIVE TYPE O BLOOD. Why do bad things happen to good people? Whoever can answer that may be able to explain why Type O people can give their blood to anybody, but only receive from other Type O's. And with 45% of people in America being Type O, that's a large number who will REQUIRE Type O if they roll into the ER.

If you have never donated, I can tell you that it really is no big deal. I watch when the needle goes in, and even with my small veins I've never had the tech fish around to find it. And afterwords you get juice and cookies. What a deal!

So please, if you are eligable, go down to your local blood bank and donate today. It's important, and it will likely be the best gift you give this season.