Want to help save a life? Donate blood today
With the donation of just one pint of blood, three lives may be saved - three lives. Three more chances for someone to fall in love, write a school essay, bounce their grandchildren on their knee. Three more chances for someone to just be and all it takes is one pint of blood.
I know there are many of us who get faint at the mere mention of the word "needle." The thought of willingly putting ourselves in a recliner while someone draws our life's fluid from our veins may seem to be too much. After all, there are plenty of other people who give blood — "other people" being the key words in that sentence.
The truth is there aren't. Almost everyone in the United States will need a blood transfusion sometime in their lives, yet only about 5 percent of the population donates blood. Those are some disturbing facts. If we are lucky, we personally will never feel the effects of a shortage, but all it takes is one infection, a car accident, or an illness, and someone we love may be in need of a life-saving transfusion.
According to the Inland Northwest Blood Center (INBC), this is the time of year when blood shortages occur, not just because donors get busy with holiday activities, but due to other factors as well. Inclement weather and illnesses such as colds and flu can inhibit people from donating and increased accidents on winter roads can lead to higher usage of blood products.
Our own local blood supply center, the INBC, is the regional supplier for almost one million people. Last year, patients in North Idaho and Eastern Washington were helped with more than 30,000 blood donations. This means that every day the INBC needs at least 150 blood donations from volunteers to keep up with demand.
The major reasons for people needing blood transfusions are cancer, heart and blood vessel diseases, and emergencies such as car accidents and burns. Some people need regular transfusions just to survive. Certain diseases, such as leukemia, prevent people from developing healthy blood on their own, so they need the help of others to keep them going.
Steve McCormick, laboratory services director for INBC informs me that our area is seeing a rise in the need for blood products.
"Not only is Bonner County's population growing, but medical services are improving and treatment options are increasing," which means more blood products are needed close to home. This year, patients at Bonner General Hospital received more than six hundred units of red blood cells. This will likely increase in 2007.
We can help the situation by donating one pint of blood. If you've donated blood before, you know that it is a relatively painless procedure. You go in, answer a couple of questions about your health history, get a quick physical and then it's ready, set, donate! Afterwards, you're treated to cookies and juice while you relax. The entire process usually takes less than an hour. The part that involves a needle takes about ten minutes. It is a pretty small commitment with a really big return. You will be saving three lives.
On the day of your blood donation, be sure to drink plenty of fluids that day, get a nutritious meal under your belt a couple of hours before, and bring your photo identification. Local patients need your help!
For dates and times of blood drives in our area, call Bonner General Hospital at 263-1441 or for more information, call INBC at (800) 423-0151 or check out its Web site at www.inbc2.org.