January is National Blood Donor Month, and a great way to start the New Year and feel good about ourselves is by giving back and helping others. You can do this by donating blood at one of the many community blood drives that pop up at this time of year, or you can go directly to the blood services collection centers to make an appointment and donate.
According to the NY Blood Center, the New York/New Jersey area faces a high demand for blood, requiring 2,000 donations each day for patients. These patients might be cancer patients, accident, burn or trauma victims, newborn babies or their mothers, transplant recipients, surgery patients, chronically transfused patients and many others. There is no substitute for donated blood, and donated blood almost always must be used within a specific amount of time. Freezing is rarely an option, except for plasma, which can be frozen for up to one year.
In order to give blood, you must be between 17 and 75 years old (those who are 16 can donate with parental consent, and over 75 if they meet all donor eligibility requirements and have a doctor’s note), weigh at least 110 pounds, and be in good health. Each blood donation process takes about an hour, and the time you spend will save the life of at least one person. In fact, for every donation, 3-5 lives can be saved. That is a very powerful motivator!
You can safely donate whole blood every eight weeks. Other donation types include automated red cells (every 16 weeks), platelets (every three days up to 24 times a year) and plasma (every 28 days). Before you donate, eat your regular meals, and drink plenty of fluids. Don’t take aspirin or products containing aspirin for 72 hours prior to donating.
New York Blood Services conducts blood drives every day of the week at local schools, libraries, fire departments and hospitals – go online to nybloodcneter.org to find a drive nearest you, or to make an appointment at one of their collection facilities. You can also call 1-800-933-2566.
Give the gift of life!
