The first time I donated blood was during a blood drive at my high school. I remember seeing fliers for the drive and thinking to myself, I’ve never done that before, but if seems like a decent thing to do and since I don’t have a fear of needles or blood and no medical restrictions, I really have no justifiable reason not to.

I sat outside the donation room waiting for my name to be called. When the time came, I went in, answered some questions and was led to the bed/table I would be donating on. The first type of donation I ever did was a whole blood donation, which is probably the most common type of donation.

Quick facts about blood/whole blood donations:

• “Every two seconds someone in the US needs blood” (redcrossblood.org)
• “More than 41,000 blood donations are needed every day” (redcrossblood.org)
• “1 donation has the potential to save as many as 3 lives” (www.bloodsource.org)
• “Approximately 1 out of every 7 people entering the hospital need blood” (www.bloodsource.org)
• “Less than 10% of the eligible US population donates annually” (www.lifeservebloodcenter.org) Let’s change that!

I began to really like donating because it felt great to know that I really was helping save lives. I soon began to research other types of donations and found out that people with blood types A+ (like me), B+ and AB are strongly encouraged to donate platelets. I decided to give a platelet donation a try. Platelets are used in cancer treatment and “one platelet donation can be worth from 12 to 18 whole blood donations” (redcross.org). This process was longer and more intense than a whole blood donation, but the need for platelet donations is constant and critical.

I have now made numerous whole blood and platelet donations, and I plan to continue to do so. I know that donating can seem super scary and time-consuming but I strongly encourage anyone who is physically and medically able to to donate, because just one donation can help save lives. As I began to make more and more donations, my care and passion about the importance of blood donations only increased and I am proud to say I will be the president of Tulane Blood Services this coming fall, and I plan to increase the number of blood donors on campus! If you, like me, value this cause, I hope you will donate, continue to donate, organize a blood drive, or just spread awareness. Just 30 minutes to 2 hours of your life could give years to others in need and even save their lives.

“The gift of blood is the gift of life. There is no substitute for human blood.” (giveapint.org)