January is National Blood Donor Month. If you have donated blood to an organization like the American Red Cross, thank you. If you’ve never donated blood but are interested, here are a few reasons why you should donate this month and in future months.
Blood is essential for life: it carries oxygen and nutrients throughout the body, fights infections, and helps heal wounds. And everyone has this self-generating resource that can be generously given to others—when and where it is needed most.
- Your donation will save lives. Every time you donate you can save the lives of as many as 3 people in need.
- You make a big impact in little time. Donating blood takes about one hour. Within 10 days, your blood will have already reached someone in need.
- More than 4.5 million patients need blood transfusions each year in the U.S. and Canada (Blood Centers of the Pacific).
- Blood contains many life-saving components that can help to treat different illnesses and injuries. For many people, blood donors are their life-line.
- Donating blood reduces the chances of ischemic heart diseases (beginning of heart problems) as frequent donations reduce the accumulated and unwanted iron load from the body.
If you’ve never given blood, you might be nervous doing so. It’s actually a fairly straight forward process. Click here to learn more.