Blood Drive

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Blood Drive

At first I didn’t even care about the assembly I was sitting through. Everyone else I had talked to had decided against participating, so I decided that I wasn’t going to either. However, as I sat and listened to the woman talk, and saw how sincere she was, I began to listen with a new interest. Then she put a video on featuring stories of the people and families this affected. There was one in particular about a little girl who had gotten in a car accident and would have died had she not received a blood transfusion. Due to a blood drive held earlier that day, the little girl’s life was saved. It was then that I made my decision. I was going to donate blood.

I was still only 17, but that’s the age requirement for donation. I knew I was well above the weight requirement as well. It was the laying on a table for 15 minutes with a needle in my arm that was bothering me. But then I started to think of what it would be like if I needed blood or someone in my family needed it. I knew I’d hope that another person would donate the blood for me. So as the movie ended and the bright lights flooded the auditorium, I stood and walked proudly to the desk set up in the back of the room to sign up as a donor.

A week prior to the blood drive I had to begin following some guidelines that would assist in making my donation an easy and painless experience. I was to increase my water intake to an unusual amount of nearly 10 glasses a day. Doing this would keep my body well hydrated and make it easier for the needle to enter my vein and the blood to come out. Also, the day of the drive I was to eat a big, healthy breakfast. This would give me the energy I needed for the donation. I was supposed to avoid ca...

... middle of paper ...

... above my head.

“Are you feeling dizzy at all?” she asked.

“Actually, no, I’m okay,” I replied, amazed. And I was. My escort came over and walked me to the snack table. As I sat down they gave me a cup of juice, a cupcake (to raise my blood sugar levels), and a tee shirt.

As I sat and talked with some of the other students and ate my cupcakes, I realized that it was that easy for me to help so many lives. In the long run the main point of my decision to give blood is really because of the motto that had been ingrained in me since I was little. The simple concept of “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you” is the principle that made me appreciate the benefits of what I had done. Sure, I got out of class, I got stickers, a tee shirt, snacks, and bragging rights, but the best thing I got out of my blood donation was being able to give.

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