The 10 reasons you don’t give blood
And an unmitigated attack on each reason
1. You don’t know anything about giving blood. You’ve never heard much about it.
Here’s the deal, champ. You go to a blood donation center or blood drive. You walk in, write your name, read a few pages of basic safety information, and wait about 6 minutes. A phlebotomist (read: level 70 needle-wielder) takes you to a computer where she measures your pulse and blood pressure and pricks your finger for a blood sample so she can check your hemoglobin levels. Then she leaves while you answer some questions on the computer about where you go on vacation, what diseases you’ve had, and who you bunk up with (just to make sure your blood doesn’t have AIDS, Zika, or mad cow disease).
Once the questions are done, you lay on a minimalist chaise longue and the phlebotomist talks to you while she scans some barcodes with a Palm Pilot. She gives you a stress ball and you squeeze it while she outlines one of your veins with a marker. She sanitizes your arm with an iodine swab (or a different kind of swab if you’re allergic to iodine). Then she pulls out a needle attached to plastic tubing, slides the needle into your vein, secures everything with tape and leaves you to it.
Ten minutes later, your bag is filled with blood. The phlebotomist removes the needle and you press a gauze strip to your arm for a minute or so. She puts a band-aid on you, wraps you up with cloth tape, and sends you to the Snack Area, a magical place full of free Cheez-Its, cookies and fruit juice. And once you’ve had some snacks and feel better, you go on your way.
A few days later you get an email from the Red Cross letting you know that your donation is on its way to Arkansas where it will save up to three lives. Yeah, that’s right. You gave away some blood you didn’t need, and not only did you get free snacks and juice💗, you saved some random strangers’ lives like freaking Batman or Edward Jenner. In fact, you could go on a Netflix binge for the rest of the week and still consider your life a success. Speaking of which, you’re not allowed to do any heavy lifting or vigorous exercise for 24 hours, so…Netflix binge it is.
2. There’s not a Red Cross Blood Donation Center within 50 miles of your house or workplace.
Ever heard of the bloodmobile? The Red Cross has mobile teams that travel from parking lot to parking lot taking donations in a big van. They also partner with several national organizations to host blood drives in convenient locations. Chances are, there’s an upcoming blood drive in your area. To find out, enter your zip code here: http://www.redcrossblood.org/our-regions
3. You’re disqualified from giving blood because of diseases you’ve had, the place you used to live, your job, or who you love.
Okay, as long as you’re sure. Some restrictions are temporary, so if you haven’t checked in for a while, you should call 1–866–236–3276 and see if you’re eligible.
4. You can’t give because your iron levels are low.
Good news! It’s the 21st century now, and there are two easy ways to get more iron in your blood: take an iron supplement, or eat steak. If I were you I’d pick the second one. I mean, not only are you eating steak, but you’re eating steak for the greater good. It’s the steak of truth, justice and the American way. It’s super-steak and you are a good person for eating it. Just imagine the following conversation:
Your significant other: How about if we go out for pasta tonight?
You: I can’t. I have to eat a steak so I can save three strangers’ lives next month.
S.O.: What? No way.
You: Yeah. It’s hard but somebody’s got to do it.
If steak’s not your thing, any kind of red meat or fish will do. Beans, enriched cereals, and baked potatoes are also good sources of iron, for all you vegetarians.
5. You don’t have time to give.
You don’t have an hour to give blood once every few months? Cool story. I take this to mean that you’re literally saving more than three lives per hour, 18 hours per day, seven days a week. If that’s true, I guess you’re off the hook. Sheesh.
If “I don’t have time” means you’re tired from working 80-hour weeks, climbing the corporate ladder, making calls, taking names, having lunch with the mayor and dinner with the press, then here’s a question: how many lives didja save this week? Huh? Is your job really as great as sitting in a comfy chair doing nothing while your extra life essence drains into a bag so it can save a dying person you’ve never met? Yeah, didn’t think so.
On top of that, giving blood is the greatest mid-week mini-vacation you’ve ever had. It feels awesome to do something nice for someone who can never thank you — they don’t know your name and you don’t know theirs. There’s almost no possible way for it to be a selfish act. It makes your soul feel cleaner.
6. You’re afraid of needles.
I get it: every time a needle approaches, you start to choke and hyperventilate and pray for a quick death. I’m afraid of heights and I know the feeling. But if hanging out on the fourth-floor balcony for an hour would save somebody’s life, I wouldn’t be the only acrophobe who would sign up.
Consider this: the same needle that scares the heck out of you now may save your life later. There’s a strong chance that you’ll need a blood transfusion someday (if you haven’t had one already). And there’s a similarly strong chance that the blood that saves your life will come from someone who’s afraid of needles. Think about it: every day, across the country, people who hate needles are lining up, volunteering to have a needle in their arm for a few minutes so that someone else can live. They’re doing it for you.
Any queasiness you experience while giving blood is worth it to the person who receives your gift. And you’ll probably discover that it’s worth it to you, too.
7. Giving blood makes you light-headed.
Just to make sure you’re weighing things out correctly: you get light-headed. Then you get free juice. And someone you’ve never met gets injected with a tall, frosty glass of your blood, which saves their life. You tell me if it’s worth it.
There are a few things you can do to improve the experience. Drink more water beforehand. Get enough sleep. Eat a solid breakfast on the day you donate. And take some extra time afterward to breathe, relax and recover.
8. You need your blood, so why would you give it up?
Donating blood is completely non-fatal. Your body contains about five liters of blood. When you donate blood, you give up a pint (about half a liter). And by the next day, you feel totally normal again. You can function at 100% without that extra pint.
As soon as your body notices that it has less blood than normal, your kidney and bone marrow turn into a hemotastic blood-producing dream team. They churn out millions of extra red blood cells, working even while you sleep, until the blood supply is replenished a few weeks later.
9. Donating blood gives you tiny, inky needle-scars in the crook of your arm, like a faint tattoo.
You’re kidding, right? I love my needle-scar tattoo. My only complaint is that your eyes have to be about four inches from my arm to be able to see it.
There should totally be a novel where someone finds out that the blood donation needle-prints in their arm spell “you are the chosen one” in braille. And then they discover that they have superpowers and can fight crime and stuff. All because they cared enough to give. See, it’s an awesome action/thriller novel and it has a good message.
10.
Ah. Looks like you’re out of reasons. See you at the blood drive!
