If, like me, you do not have the financial capability to make monetary donations but want to help in some way, there is a donation we can all make if we are healthy.
If you have a cough or a fever or any other symptoms that could be COVID-19 related, stay home and don’t spread it.
If, however, you are feeling healthy and do not believe you have had contact with the infection, go to a blood bank, Red Cross, whatever is near you and make a donation.
In this tumultuous and traumatic time donations are needed. As the Red Cross says, blood donations are needed for lots of things that are still happening.
- Most patients who have a major surgical procedure will have a blood transfusion to replace any blood loss during their surgery.
- Blood transfusions are used for patients who have experienced serious injuries from car crashes or natural disasters.
- Individuals with an illness that causes anemia, such as leukemia or kidney disease, will often be the recipients of blood transfusions.
There are more situations and reasons donations are needed. I have donated for years. I had a traumatic brain injury in 1996 that caused a subdural hematoma. I came close to needing a craniotomy but the swelling started to go down in time to eliminate the need. I would have needed transfusion, possiblyd of both whole blood and platelets. I survived but others won’t without being transfused. It’s the least I can do to pay back for my survival.
I have an agreement with the Blood Bank of Delmarva that when I come in, I will donate whatever they are in the most need of. A platelet donation takes the longest, up to 120 minutes if your process time is slow. Plasma is done on the same type of apheresis machine but takes about half the time. Yesterday they needed whole blood the most. I filled the donation bad in less than 5 minutes, possibly a record time for me.
Many of us have lots of extra time now. Use it in a supportive, generous, healing way and donate.
Blood banks are the most sterile place you can be (outside of an operating room). Your donation is tested and retested before it is used. You will not be contacted about the results of the testing so don’t think you can use it as a COVID-19 test for yourself. As they told me yesterday, if you are infected you will already be sick by the time they get the test results, so they don’t need to inform you.
But be a true American and help others recover from severe injury and illness. It’s important. It could be your child or parent or spouse who is injured or ill and you would want others to have donated to help them survive.