Volunteering Through Blood Donation
I have blogged a couple times concerning donating blood as a form of service. Yesterday I donated and made another appointment in order to start a trend of donating as often as possible (the allowance being every 56 days). While at ARUP, I learned some new information on whole blood versus platelets as ARUP takes donations of both. The girls who helped me stated that there is a need for both and that their supply never exceeds the local demand, but platelets short lifespan can result in platelets being needed more frequently.
The platelets are what makes blood clot and are needed by cancer patients, transplant (organ and bone marrow) patients, plus others. Whereas whole blood can be frozen, platelets can only be used up to five days as they will actually start to clot together.
Another interesting fact is since a platelet donation only removes part of the blood with all other components being restored to the donor, donations can be made 24 times a year rather than six times a year with whole blood.
I try to volunteer once per week (though I have been on a small hiatus) as a way to try and keep my priorities in order. Upon learning about platelet donations I started contemplating integrating this activity into my life. I am still pondering the subject as it does mean sitting with a needle in my arm for an hour and half time period every other week, but I do like that it is a form of service with a huge impact, which sometimes is hard to find.