Giving Blood

Today I gave blood. Every couple of months I go into the city and donate 470ml of my O+ blood to the Red Cross. I think it is a great thing to do and everyone who is eligible should get in there and give it a go. And for those who don't like needles, neither do I.

Here's why I think giving blood is such a good thing to do.

1) It is easy. You just sit there and it flows right out of you. It's almost as if your body is designed to do it, bleed that is.

2) It makes a difference. Just ask anyone who has received blood or a blood product. Think of people in emergency wards across the state, people receiving treatment for cancer, etc.

3) It is an anonymous, random act of kindness. I don't know what the blood bank is going to do with my donation today. I don't know if they are going to send it to an operating theatre to put into someone who has had a workplace accident. I don't know if they are going to split it into various parts and in a months time 5 different people will be walking around with a bit of me pumping around inside them.

4) It is egalitarian. My blood could go to an AFL footballer, a high flying businessman or a homeless guy who got beaten up by some idiot. It doesn't matter. I don't give to receive, although I do hope if I ever need blood there will be enough for me.

5) It reminds us that on the inside we really are all the same. We all bleed the same colour. My blood is the same blood as everyone else. It is all interchangeable (within blood type compatibility's obviously).

When are you going to give?

What I read today:

The forgotten victims of the Middle East

Rick Warren: Political and Moral Agendas