Not Only Medics and Cops Save Lives
I’ve been doing it for decades — and so can you!
Everyone knows that doctors, nurses, first responders, and other professionals such as police officers save lives on a regular basis; that’s part of their job description. The rest of us are thought to be able to do so only rarely, when we happen to come across a life-threatening situation and are able to save a potential victim. Not so!
Any healthy person above age 16 (there’s no upper age limit) can save lives multiple times per year, posing no risk to themselves or to others. All they have to do is donate whole blood or blood components at a nearby authorized blood donation center. Regrettably, only 2 percent of Americans donate blood, despite the constant shortage.
Some donate blood components at commercial centers to make money. Others donate at non-commercial centers. In either case, the real reward is far more meaningful than money.
Regardless of whatever else you do, the knowledge that your donations save lives gives your own life a real purpose. As a regular donor, I can attest that this knowledge gives me a profound sense of fulfillment whenever I make a donation.
I have chosen to donate through the American Red Cross, a major national, nonsectarian, nonprofit organization running blood donation centers across the country. The only material rewards it provides donors are post-donation snacks, occasional American Red Cross t-shirts, other minor gifts, or a chance to win a raffle. No one donates through them to make money; that’s simply not the point.
What’s your blood type?
Many people — perhaps most — don’t even know their own blood type. Whether or not you are a blood donor, that’s crucial information that can save your life.
There are 4 basic blood types: A, B, AB, and O; if you are in a serious accident and need an immediate blood transfusion, the first responder needs to know your blood type immediately, because a potential donor’s blood type may be incompatible with yours.
Ideally, you should not only know your blood type but also carry that information in your purse or wallet, in case the accident renders you nonverbal. When every second counts, this could save your life.
No matter your blood type, you are encouraged to donate. All donations save lives. But your donation center may recommend that you donate whole blood or a specific blood component, depending on your blood type.
Types of donations
The American Red Cross website sets out in great detail the 4 major types of blood donations: whole blood; power red; platelets; and plasma. It also provides recommendations for the ideal kind of donation for each blood type; explains what specific uses each kind of donation provides; explains how the process works; how long each type of donation takes; and much more.
I will focus here on my own personal experience as a longtime American Red Cross blood donor, having made 211 donations so far.
My history as a donor
During my three decades as a donor, I’ve donated 3 of the 4 types of blood donations in the three locations where I’ve lived: whole blood in Washington, DC; platelets in Northern Virginia; and plasma in Northern California, where I’ve been living for the last 7 years.
The pre-donation process is virtually identical in those 3 types of donations: check-in; a one-on-one interview with a nurse who weighs you, checks your heart rate and blood pressure; takes a look at your veins; sticks your finger to check your hemoglobin level; and asks you many health-, lifestyle- and travel-related questions (you can save time by filling out at home the lengthy questionnaire online ahead of your appointment). If everything checks out, you walk over to a comfortable chair for your donation.
The post-donation process is also identical in all types of donations: the needle is withdrawn from your vein; a bandage is placed over it; and you walk over to the center’s canteen, where you help yourself to delicious treats and juices. You then return home with a large, brightly colored bandage on your arm, marking you as a successful blood donor.
When I lived and worked in Washington, DC, more than 3 decades ago, I donated whole blood at the local American Red Cross donation center, although my AB blood type is the least suitable for a whole blood donation; it can provide blood transfusions only to others with AB blood type — a small minority of the population. But at that time, the DC center was not equipped for platelets or plasma donations; it took only whole blood donations.
The process for such donations is straightforward and quick: a needle is inserted in a vein in one of your arms, and a pint of your blood (about 10% of the total) is pumped into a machine where it is collected in a bag. Whole blood donations usually take no more than 10 minutes. You then need to wait at least 56 days until your next donation — up to 6 times per year. The ideal type in whole blood donations is O — the only universal donor (i.e., people with any blood type can take whole blood transfusions from O) — but A and B blood types are useful as well.
I don’t have many memories from those long-ago donations, except that 2 or 3 times the needle was inserted improperly, then quickly set in place. That caused a slight pain and a bruise, which faded within a few days. No big deal!
A few years later I moved to Northern Virginia, donating at a local American Red Cross center which was also equipped for platelets, but not plasma, donations. That was far more appropriate for my AB blood, which is the only universal donor among all blood types both for platelets and for plasma donations. But A, B and O blood types are also encouraged to donate platelets.
For platelets, an apheresis machine collects a pint of blood as well, removes the platelets, and return the rest of the blood through the same arm or your other arm — your choice; this cycle will be repeated several times for about 2 hours.
Due to this lengthy process, a large selection of movies is provided for platelets donors, shown on a TV screen in front of each chair. If you want to watch a movie all the way to the end, pick one that’s no longer than two hours.
Since platelets are replenished very rapidly, you can donate every 7 days (up to 24 donations per year). I chose to wait a month between platelets donations.
Once I moved to Northern California, I hit my blood type’s jackpot. For the first time in 3 decades, I found an American Red Cross blood center that has a specialized apheresis machine for plasma donations.
I feel lucky to have AB blood — both selfishly and altruistically. Selfishly — because AB can take a whole blood transfusion from any blood type. And altruistically — because AB is the universal plasma donor. It also makes me feel special, because only 4 percent of Americans have AB blood. Thank you, my dear parents, for this precious gift!
During an AB Elite Plasma Donation (that’s what the American Red Cross calls AB plasma donations), you give plasma, a part of your blood used to treat patients in emergency situations, burn victims, and patients with cancer or certain other serious illnesses.
Just like with platelets, a pint of blood is pumped into an apheresis machine which separates the plasma from other blood components, then returns to you the rest of your blood. AB Elite donations take about an hour. Donation frequency in American Red Cross blood centers is at least 28 days, up to 13 times per year. Only AB donors are encouraged to make plasma donations, which can be frozen for transfusions for an entire year — far longer than whole blood or platelets donations.
One experience I’ll never forget occurred just when I was leaving my donation center in Northern California after a plasma donation. A passerby noticed my bright red bandage and knew I had just made a blood donation. He approached me, gave me a hug, and said, “My life was saved by a blood donation, and unfortunately there are very few donors. May God bless you for donating and saving lives!” That was a moment of supreme elation!
Whatever your blood type and the kind of donations you make, beyond the main reward — the sense of fulfillment in saving lives — there is also a wonderful side benefit: You get to interact with dedicated nurses — males and females — from extremely diverse backgrounds. One female nurse told me a harrowing story of her last-moment escape from Afghanistan; another talked about life in her native Philippines; and several spoke about their immense happiness about living and working in the United States after escaping from their poor and oppressive South American countries.
At least for me — and, I suspect for many others — blood donations provide unique opportunities to speak with fascinating and admirable people whom I would have never met otherwise. That’s an awesome bonus on top of the main purpose — saving lives!
