#WhyIGiveBlood – Your Responses

June 27, 2013 at 1:28 pm
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(Comments from FB post on 2/8)

Many blood donors have unique reasons for giving blood. Perhaps a close friend or family member needed a life-saving blood transfusion. Or maybe it’s all about the cookies and POG! We recently asked folks through our Facebook page to share their motivation for giving blood. With the goal of inspiring others, we’d like to take the opportunity here to highlight each of the incredible responses we received.

-I donate blood because how often does your average person get to save a life? It’s easy, painless and keeps a fellow human alive! How cool is that?

-I donate blood because I’m fortunate to be healthy (and I have good veins – I’m a sucker for a compliment.) I donate platelets because I’m in an even smaller group of people able to do so. And, yes, I do enjoy the cookies!

I had a story run last year about myself and my daughter. She got a tattoo so ineligible for a year. I’m O- and CMV- so I’ve been donating platelets every other week. Near the FDA plasma limit so I’m taking a month off. At first it was just doing a public service that made me feel better contributing to the community. Now that I’ve learned more about platelets and blood I consider it a moral obligation, and I’m still happy to help.

-I donate platelets because it’s the only form of volunteering I’ve found that I actually enjoy doing — everyone is falling all over themselves to make sure I’m happy and comfortable. (I also do platelets because I have enough time to sit w a needle in my arm for a couple hours at a stretch.)

-I give blood, in part, chasing the 13 gallon mark which my 90+ year old father has reached. And, in part, for the cookies.

-When we were young, my brothers and I would go to the center with my mother while she donated. We loved the volunteers who kept us entertained and fed us POG and cookies. It made blood donation a normal part of life for me today! My mom still donates 5-6 times a year, and I donate whenever I can, especially when you come to Stanford Hospital where I work. And I love the donation points store!

-I donate blood because I know the higher chances of saving a life, most specially to pediatrics who has long term need of blood transfusion.

-I donate in honor of my sister-in-law, who nearly died in childbirth but is still with us today thanks, in part, to 23 pints of blood.

-I do it for the Stanford coffee mug I keep at work that allows me to yell, “Hey, I BLED for that cup, don’t you DARE use it!” And the free movie tickets on Mondays.

-To ensure there will be blood & platelets when others need it most.I donate to save lives, just like mine was. I was born with two congenital heart defects and had to have open heart surgery to survive. Without donors I wouldn’t have made it. I see my O neg, CMV neg donations a great way to ‘pay it forward’ to infants in similar situations today.I donate to save lives, just like mine was. I was born with two congenital heart defects and had to have open heart surgery to survive. Without donors I wouldn’t have made it. I see my O neg, CMV neg donations a great way to ‘pay it forward’ to infants in similar situations today.

-I donate to save lives, just like mine was. I was born with two congenital heart defects and had to have open heart surgery to survive. Without donors I wouldn’t have made it. I see my O neg, CMV neg donations a great way to ‘pay it forward’ to infants in similar situations today. I’m also aiming to beat my grandfather’s 10-gallon donation marker.