blood donors

[oneup]

do you donate?
i realise some people cant, or wont, for religious and medical reasons. bur for those who can, despite it not being the most pleasant thing on earth, it can also give a sense of pride and caring, and WILL SAVE LIVES.
i have a fairly rare blood group, that is quite unique as my plasma is universal (it can be used for people in many other blood groups.) for this reason i became a plasma donor. (plasma is used for people with burns, shock, and clotting disorders)
it takes a bit more time, but i get a payback of a bit of civic pride, doing something that will benefit someone else in their time of greatest need.
My wife is alive today because others gave blood.
As motorcyclists (even if it is 3 wheels) we are more prone to injury than cage drivers.
So i would like to encourage anyone who is ok with the idea to give it a go.

My current situation is that i got Tattooed in New Orleans in July, and cant donate for 6 months, which is about up now, and there are signs along the highways saying blood stocks are low, but the blood bank call centre is closed for xmas. so i cant find out if i can donate again yet.

[Firea100]

Over 7 Gallons in my life so far. My saying is : I give my blood to the Red Cross and my money donations to the Salvation Army.

[bongobobny]

I'm a platelet donor myself but have donated whole blood as well. I'm also on the bone marrow registry and am an organ doner.

[Nana]

Mike and I have both donated for years and firmly believe in supporting the local blood bank on a regular basis. As a nurse, I have so often seen how life-saving these donations are!

[Bikerbozo]

I gave up keeping track after 6 gallons. Unfortunately, with recent infections, I need to hold off donating for a while.

[Rmitchell55]

My last donation (Early Dec.) put me over the 17 gal. mark for the local Blood Bank. I have donated blood in Hong Kong, Phillipines, Japan and I tried to donate in Brisbane, AU the last time that I was there but they wouldn't take my blood because I had been in Guam. The first time that I donated in Hong Kong (1971) it was really crude, after the blood was drawn, two clamps was placed on the tubing about a foot from the needle and the tubing was cut between the clamps. The nurse then released the clamp and filled up three or four open/empty test tubes. Donate a pint of blood and get a free pint of beer in the pub on the other end of the building.

[Veritas44]

Love to donate in groups and see who can fill the Bag the quickest
Nothing like a Competition to bring out the Donors. We do a five dollar buy in and Winner gets half. Other half to the Donation Center for cookies and OJ supplies.
Winner normally donates his half for the same.

[captdanwh]

it makes me feel good reading about you bikers who are giving your time and blood to save lives. i myself have given blood for so many years i cannot count that high. i like tattoo's but will not get any due to the fact i would not be able to donate for a year after the ink is put on and don't want to wait that long. again , i thank all of you who are involved and keep up the good job.

[Keystone]

When I could, I did. Reached the 3 gallon mark (well almost. 1 pint short). And if they would take mine today, I would still be doing it.