Blood - Donating That Is

In the wake of the massacre in Orlando, Florida, there was a desperate need for blood donations and the US responded generously. After such horrendous killings and injuries it was wonderful to see people stepping forward to donate blood for the victims. Among those who offered blood was speculative fiction novelist, Jim C. Hines and he blogged about how he had thought having diabetes would preclude him from donating for many years and had recently discovered it wasn't a barrier.

I come from a family which has always donated blood. I have memories as a child of coming in for breakfast and finding my father wasn't there. He had one of the less common blood groups and had been called in during the night to donate blood to a newborn 'blue baby'. Like him I was a donor here in Australia until my health deteriorated and I was no longer able to donate.

Eventually I ended up on the opposite side of blood donation when I haemorrhaged when giving birth  and needed a blood transfusion. It just proves the point that you never know when something might go wrong and, as a recipient, I am grateful to those who had generously donated.

 Donating blood is a safe, simple and relatively painless process - no worse than a blood test really - and I'd urge everyone who is fit enough to consider doing it. You will be helping others and, who knows, but you might need blood yourself one day.