I had open heart surgery as a kid, which required a blood transfusion, and was made possible by the generosity of volunteer blood donors. I am alive today, with a personality 98% in common with fictional serial killer Dexter Morgan according to a popular online quiz, because of that surgery and those blood donors. Donating blood is not complicated or painful and it’s actually kind of cool to watch and then track your blood and see where it ends up. If anything, donating blood likely has positive health benefits for the donor – lower blood pressure and lower risk of stroke and heart attack. For my 50th birthday, which was earlier this week, I’d like to see if I could get 5 people to donate blood in the next month. Right now, there are a bunch of little Succotashes out there, sitting in hospitals, preparing for surgeries, and they’re counting on people like you and me to donate blood. What would Dexter do? He would tell you to open up those veins!
Challenge your friends (or anyone for that matter) to a friendly competition! Who will win the battle to do the most social good for your community?
Put your virtual blood drive campaign against one or even multiple other campaigns to see who can recruit more blood donors for the American Red Cross.
