With
the holidays behind us and thoughts of gratitude and kindness fresh on the
brain, let’s talk about donation! Specifically blood donation because January
is National Blood Donor Month.
Why
should you donate? Take a look at these blood supply statistics from the
American Red Cross and the Community Blood Center:
1.
Every 2 seconds someone in
the United States needs blood.
Blood
donations are essential for everything from surgeries to cancer treatments and
chronic illnesses. According to the American Cancer Society, about 1.7 million
people are expected to be diagnosed with cancer each year. Many of these
individuals will need blood, sometimes daily, during their treatments.
2.
1 donation can potentially
save up to 3 lives.
The
blood donation process usually only takes about ten minutes and won’t decrease
your strength. After donating, your body replaces the fluid in hours and the
red blood cells within four weeks, meaning that you can donate blood
approximately once every 56 days if you meet the donation requirements. For 10
minutes of your time as often as every two months, you could save so many lives
and be the reason someone gets healthy today.
3.
Blood and platelets cannot be manufactured; they can only
come from volunteer donors.
About
one in seven people entering a hospital will need blood, but only about 3% of
age-eligible people donate blood yearly. If 1% more of Americans gave blood,
blood shortages would disappear for the foreseeable future.
Can
you imagine a world where blood donation is common-place? Where patients can
count on receiving the care they need without worrying about shortages? Let’s
do our best this National Blood Donor Month to help make that world a reality!
Your Turn: Have you or a family member
donated or received donated blood? Tell us about your experience in the
comments.
Learn
more about blood donation needs and where to donate at the American Red Cross and the Community Blood Center. Donation eligibility is also available on these
websites.
No comments:
Post a Comment