My National Blood Donor Month Plea

I tried…

Yesterday, I went to donate blood as an act of service for Martin Luther King Day 2016. (January also happens to be National Blood Donor Month.) After filling out my paperwork, I had my finger pricked in order to test my iron. Unfortunately, my iron was too low for me to donate. I’ll admit that I was sad-happy to hear that – sad because I really wanted to donate but happy because it tends to be difficult for my blood to be drawn.

Nurses have a really hard time drawing blood from my mom, my son Sean and me. It usually takes several needle pricks before they are successful. Before the nurse on the New York Blood Center’s bloodmobile checked the iron in my blood, she said, “Show me your arms.” I turned my arms so that she could see them and she said, “Oh, I see that you have bad veins.” Alrighty then!

If you have “good veins” and qualify to give blood, I encourage you to do so. A lot of the people in my church group that went to donate yesterday were turned away for a variety of reasons. (Most of those who were turned away had traveled out of the country within the year so they were not eligible.) If you are in New York, you can check the New York Blood Center “Can I donate blood” page to see the blood donor eligibility criteria. While on the site, you  can find the nearest location to Donate Blood, learn how to Volunteer or even Make a Financial Contribution.

I am not affiliated with the New York Blood Center at all. I just know that there are a lot of kids and adults who need blood for a variety of reasons. Here is one example:

If you can help, please do so. Donate blood. Thanks!