I'd Like You to Give Something Away...
Something very specific, very personal and very precious to you. I want you to give it to someone you will never know and they will never thank you. Giving it will require some effort, is likely to be an inconvenience and may actually cause some mild physical pain. And after you have given it once, you may be asked to give it again, and again, and again.....
Sounds like a great deal - right? "Sign me up!" you say?
Well, before you think I have gone completely off my rocker, I will come clean. I'd like you to give away some of your blood.
Full disclosure - I am not now nor have I ever been affiliated with the American Red Cross or any other blood donation service. I am fortunate to have never needed a blood transfusion and no one close to me needs one now so this is not an appeal that has a personal motivation.
But I do know this - someone who doesn't look like you, doesn't speak like you or doesn't vote like you, needs your blood. Someone's father or mother needs your blood. Someone's little girl, with her giggles and her curls, needs your blood. In a world that is often in search of the perfect selfie, I'd like you to do something perfectly selfless. I'd like to you to give part of yourself away. Because:
- 4.5 million Americans would die each year without life saving blood transfusions
- 60% of the U.S. population is eligible to donate - but only 5% do on an annual basis
- The #1 reason for not donating is "never thought about it"
- There is no substitute for human blood
Source: Brookhaven National Laboratory
With your blood, someone could be a future poet who brings light and beauty to the world. Or they may become a scientist who cures a disease or sends a space ship to another galaxy. Or they could be someone who simply holds your hand while you take your final breath.
This is a tough time of year to give such a gift. Winter months make travel sometimes difficult. Work has accumulated over the holidays. But disease and illness and injuries don't take a holiday and they don't care about the weather.
It is said that there is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends. This phrase is most often mentioned in terms of a soldier who died defending his or her fellow soldiers and the country they love. Very few of us will be asked to make the ultimate sacrifice like these brave soldiers. But perhaps, in a small way, we can lay down, just for a few minutes, and give of ourselves so that another may live.
Give blood like someone's life depends on it. Because it does....