There are many reasons why we should all sign up to donate blood. I am one of many people who is signed up to donate blood, however have never actually donated blood myself. I get that this can mean that anything I say in this post will make me a hypocrite as I haven't actually donated blood, however this is due to a few different factors that have, in some ways, prevented me from being able to actually donate, but can also be seen as me being a coward (which I am).
I guess the main reason why I haven't actually donated blood is that I'm scared. I'm scared of what is going to happen, even though I know that nothing bad is going to happen to me while I'm there. They even give you a free cup of tea and some biscuits while you're there for crying out loud (even though I don't actually like tea so an extra biscuit or two will do), so they're hardly going to do anything to you that could harm you in any way. Another reason is that the town that I live in is very small and in a rural area, so in order for me to actually donate blood I would have to go elsewhere as they no longer carry out blood donations in my town. I have only recently passed my driving test so haven't really been able to go anywhere else without having to rely on someone else for a lift. Plus the fact that the bus service in my town is shocking and even if I was able to get to wherever I needed to go to donate blood, it is questionable over whether or not I would be able to make it home (and vice versa).
But these are all just excuses. They are excuses that I have forced myself to believe are the reason as to why I haven't actually donated any blood yet because we would all rather force ourselves to believe a lie than to believe the truth in some cases. I know that I need to donate blood as I shouldn't just sign up to something as important as this if I'm not actually going to do anything about it. I mean, donating blood helps to save lives for crying out loud! I could be the reason why someone doesn't get to live, all because of my stupid excuses for not donating blood. However if I did donate blood then I could be the reason why someone's life was saved. And if I had the choice between the two I would much rather be the reason for someone being able to live their life than the reason why they ended up losing it.
I have my own reasons why I signed up to donate blood and I am genuinely disappointed in myself for not having donated blood given what could have happened. There was a couple of occasions where my mum, for one reason or another, had lost a lot of blood and needed a blood transfusion in order to survive. In both of those instances if it hadn't of been for the kind-heartedness and generosity of some complete and utter strangers in donating their blood, then it is questionable over whether or not my mum would actually be alive today. If this doesn't give me a good enough reason to actually get off my arse, go somewhere where I can donate blood and actually donate my blood, then I don't know what is.
Each time you donate blood you could be responsible for saving three lives. Every time you donate, you donate one unit of blood, which is 350ml to a healthy person that weighs at least 50kg (about 7 stone 12 lbs) and is aged between 17 and 66 years old. You can only donate blood once every three months. That means that in a year you could be responsible for saving 12 lives. In your lifetime alone you have the potential to save over 588 lives (forgive me if I have gotten the maths completely wrong). That is just YOU on your own. That is an incredible number of lives that could be saved.
The fact that ONE person could save over 588 lives in just one lifetime truly astonishes me. In fact, writing this post alone has encouraged me to actually go ahead and donate blood. If I can do it, then you can too. Here is the link where you can see if you are eligible in the UK to donate blood and to actually be able to sign up and find your nearest place to go and donate blood. If you don't live in the UK then I suggest that you find out where in your country you are able to do this, as every single drop of blood that leaves your body counts towards saving a life.
I know that I would rather be the person that helped save a life than the person who ended one. Wouldn't you?
Love Beth xx
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