Blood Donation Survey

Many thanks to the 53 readers who participated in the recent survey about blood donation. The survey question was “I donate blood…” The results were:

Never 16 (30%)
Infrequently 7 (13%)
1-2 times/year 4 (8%)
3 or more times/year 5 (9%)
I am ineligible to donate 21 (40%)

Have you ever donated? Have you ever received a blood donation? Most likely, if you have needed a donation, blood was available to you. It was available because someone had donated it.

I was surprised by the number reporting ineligibility. I recently joined that group, when I learned that, because of my heart attack in August, I would be hereafter classified as permanently excluded from donating.

If you have been determined to be ineligible, it could be worth a call to a blood center to ask if you might again be eligible; for example, if the exclusion was due to past travel to certain countries, it could be now that the list of countries has changed. Call Heartland Blood Center at 630.892.7055 with your questions.

And, if you have never donated blood, I encourage you to re-think your position or decision. It takes just a few minutes to give, and technicians are skilled. You’ll hardly even know it’s happening.