Yesterday, I gave blood for the second time this year. I know, I know, I could have done it more than twice given that it's August, but I'm a little slow sometimes.

Anyway, it made me realize that while a lot of my friends are very generous with their time and money, people often forget that giving blood is also an essential part of the way some of our medical treatments work.

Here are just a few examples of how your blood can be used to maybe save some else's life:


Red blood cells:

• used for treatment of accident victims
• used to replace blood lost during surgery
• used to treat burn victims
• used to increase the body's oxygen carrying capacity
• used for the treatment of anemia when it can't be medically treated

Platelets:

• used to treat bone marrow failure
• used to help treat leukemia and cancer patients
• used to treat low platelet count or other problems causing abnormally functioning platelets

Plasma:

• used during cardiac surgeries
• used to treat burn victims
• used to treat bleeding disorders when clotting factors are missing

Whole blood donations are the most popular form of blood donation and can be used to extract all of the above from your blood. I strongly encourage you to consider donating blood because you never know when you yourself might need some form of blood donation. The whole process can take about 30 minutes, but the actual blood donation can take as little as 5 minutes.

Think about it. You never know who's life you're saving.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
Margaret Mead