The Real Reason to Donate Blood

Just a bit of conversation at the diner…

Tomorrow I am going to donate platelets at Versiti, an organization that is a “fusion of donors, scientific curiosity, and precision medicine” in the Midwest. Versiti covers blood donation, organ and tissue donation, diagnostic services, and research at the Blood Research Institute. Tomorrow’s platelet donation will be my 18^th donation with them, which is particularly auspicious in gematria (Jewish numerology) and seems appropriate for the day before a Jewish holiday.

I urge everyone who can to go donate whole blood, plasma, or platelets. According to the Red Cross, the nation is facing its worst blood shortage in more than a decade, due to the pandemic, the weather, and staffing conditions. This shortage is, “threatening patient care and forcing doctors to make tough choices about who is able to receive blood transfusions.” But my request to you is not just because of the current shortage. It’s not just because platelets last less than five days outside of the body but are still needed for, “a wide range of treatments for patients of all kinds, including premature babies, warriors fighting cancer, trauma victims, and those receiving organ or bone marrow transplants.” It’s not just because 10,000 units of plasma are needed daily in the US. It’s not just that only 4% of blood donors have the Ro blood type, even though this is the most important blood type for people with sickle cell disease.

No, there is an even more important reasons to donate blood. FREE SNACKS. Even better, they are guilt-free snacks.

That’s right. After you donate blood, you get free cookies, crackers, chips, water, and soda, and you don’t have to worry about logging any of them with Noom or Weight Watchers. Sure, the feelings of altruism, virtue, and community responsibility are nice and all, but the real reason to donate is that someone will give you a cookie.

And, I like cookies.

For more information on where to donate, visit the Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies.