Each time you give blood you get a text to tell you where your blood has gone, so this time around I'm helping someone at the Cheltenham General Hospital. In January my blood went to St Bartholomew's, London and last September it was Salisbury Hospital. I pray it made a difference.
As humans and for me as a Christian, we're supposed to be there for each other and to do what we can to help. We may not have an abundance of money that we can give away, but I have had the gift for time the last few years, and this is one of the ways I have made the best of that time.
I made my first blood donation in about 1997; a friend where I was working was going to give blood and she convinced me to go with her. No-one I knew gave blood and to be frank I wondered why it was my issue. I recall being quite worried, but it all went seamlessly and in fact I give blood very quickly and without any consequence to me. I've never felt ill after donating and to be honest, what I tend to feel is elated.
So I continued to give blood but as my career took off and I worked more hours it became more patchy as I was never around when the donation sessions were taking place. It was only once I'd had the children that I started to have some time again to be able to donate and it's only in the last three or four years that I've become a regular thrice a year donor (women can donate every 16 weeks).
Last year I wrote a post, titled a Beginners Guide to Giving Blood in the UK, why not take a look if you have not donated yet. There are a few things you need to think through and of course you need to check you are fit and well, and can donate.
The Blood.co.uk website is very informative and easy to use. You need to register before you can donate and you can book your sessions online, so that you don't have to wait long. I've found my sessions to be super efficient since they introduced the online booking system quite a number of years back.
Each day roughly 5,000 people give blood but there still isn't enough blood all of the time, for everyone who needs it. There needs to be around another 400 new blood donors every day to ensure that all needs can be met. This is why it is important that YOU consider giving blood. You might just be that person who has a rare blood group, who can help someone with sickle cell or who provides the O negative blood that has fallen in short supply.
You can make a difference. You can do something amazing. So why not investigate today and start your blood donation journey?