Anticipation ran high as my seventeen-year-old self walked into the Far Rockaway auditorium for my first blood donation. Now four years later my donation locations include the infamous Magen David Adom truck on Ben Yehuda, and of, course Stern’s bi-semester drive run by the NYBC. It’s easy for me to iron up, stick out a finger and then my arm, even to donate double red blood cells on the ALYX machines. But I know this isn’t easy for everyone.
If you do qualify to donate blood, in general and obviously on the day of the drive, congratulations! You are part of 38% percent of the American population that can donate blood. Yet far more people can donate than they think, according to the New York Blood Center website–in fact, less than ten percent of these donors step up. So why should everyone else participate? Is your blood really needed?
The short answer is, Yes. Blood can not be manufactured or bought —it’s an organ, so that’s illegal. The Red Cross knows your fears, listing “afraid of needles” as one of the top common reasons people do not donate. But isn’t college supposed to help us face our fears and and make us great?
You may not donate blood because it takes time and we are all busy. Never fear. Stern has four drives, two held each semester, spaced to accommodate previous donors and midterms alike. How much closer can you get than on campus?
You may not donate because you’re worried about preparing to donate. Prep is actually easy: iron levels can be built up three weeks prior to donation, and a good meal or two on the day of the drive is a must. Drinking water also helps. If your iron levels are low or you can’t donate, consider volunteering at the drive. But if you are eligible, take the plunge and I’ll hold your hand as you put your arm out.
I am an average, overworked and underpaid college student. But something that makes me a little above average is that I possess one of the four core blood types and am thus an eligible donor. Each blood donation makes me a superhero.
As time consuming as you think this act is, as painful as you assume and as difficult as you believe it to be, guess what? You can save lives. Literally. Each pint is three lives saved. This means someone can receive an organ after finding a match, someone can get a transfusion, someone can feel that much better and give birth to their baby. Why? Because you took a stand. You took time from your day and you said, “Why not?” That makes you a superhero.