Blood thirsty

I added the Give Blood banner* even though I recognize the humor of a site dedicated to horror and vampires in particular asking for people to give blood. But it really is a serious subject and is needed. And it's something I've never done, but I'm going to do it this week. Only about 2 percent to 5 percent of eligible donors -- and that's healthy adults with no restrictive conditions -- give blood. The rest of us rely on them for our needs. Many parts of the country, the Mid-Atlantic region for example, rely on other parts of the country's blood supply to meet their needs. This is partly due to so many world-class hospitals locating in the region and also because those on the East Coast tend to be busy making money, commuting to work, taking kids to soccer matches. You name the excuse, I've probably used it myself. So some parts of the country rely on the other regions where donors supply more than is needed. And guess what? Most blood products have a limited shelf life. It's not like you can store it for long periods of time so there's a reserve to draw upon in a crisis. And we're in a national crisis at this time. Not because so many people suffered injuries from Hurricane Katrina that they created a blood shortage. No, the crisis comes from the fact so many of those lovely gray haired women and men who serve as volunteers for blood drives are called in to service to work at emergency shelters. The crisis comes from so many people who might have served as blood donors themselves are now displaced because their homes were destroyed and they've got a lot more things to worry about than donating a pint of blood. The crisis comes from people like me who make excuses instead of standing in line to help my fellow man (or woman or child). If a region experiences a blood shortage, hospitals might have to postpone surgeries, certain cancer treatments might be delayed. Those drops of blood you give can give life to people you'll probably never meet. Many of us are angry that more was not done to save the lives of people in New Orleans and wished we could have been there to do something to help them. But there is a way for us to save lives all the time by donating blood. I'm not going to lie and say every blood donation saves a life. Truth is your blood donation might sit in a refrigerated case unused until it passes its expiration date and has to be tossed out. Not very dramatic or rewarding and maybe not the way to encourage you to give blood. But the truth also is there is a chance, a very strong chance if you make donating blood a routine part of being a good, civic-minded citizen, that your blood will save a life. And maybe a lot of lives. I know that's a chance I'm going to begin taking.