Six Lives Saved

Today I saved six lives.

And no I didn't rescue anyone from a burning building or prevent anyone from drowning or steer an out of control school bus of children to safety.

Instead, I gave blood.

Today I gave a double red cell donation, in which the blood center is able to collect twice as many red blood cells from my blood as a regular whole blood donation. And since for every pint of blood you give, you could ultimately save three lives, today I did double duty.

The double red cell donation is actually kind of a interesting procedure, because the patient can get extremely cold during the donation. See... your body is approximately 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit and therefore, your blood is also. But when they remove it from your body it gets closer to room temperature which is somewhere around 72 degrees Fahrenheit. During this process, a machine separates your red blood cells from your plasma, and then they return your plasma to your bloodstream. So because the plasma is way cooler than it was when it exited your veins, you feel a really weird, cool sensation when it is returned. And they do all this twice. So nevertheless, I froze today why I gave blood! They had me wrapped up in two blankets, and I was still a shivering fool! And it's a weird feeling, because it feels like you are being chilled from the inside out, instead of the outside in. Almost as if the blood in your veins is freezing over like water in a stream.

So while I wasn't overly courageous or gallant today, I still spent one very cold and uncomfortable hour lying on my back with a needle stuck in my arm. That's more than most people do! For in fact, only around 38% of Americans are even eligible to give blood, and less than 10% actually give blood on a regular basis. Shocking, huh?

And being totally honest, giving blood really didn't bother me at all. Yes my arm is a little tender where the needle went in, but it was a small price to pay, considering six lives were on the line.

And if there ever comes a time when I am need of blood, I will be glad that there are good people out there willing to give.