Blood drives are always going on. You can go to the Red Cross website and find one in your area.
The website sends you text reminders the day before, as well as a link to the Rapid Pass, a questionnaire that determines you eligibility.
Yes, you can give blood if youâve had gay sex; Biden fixed that. Yes, you can give blood if youâve got tattoos, so long as they were conducted in a licensed facility.
On the day of, you go to the drive. You need your driverâs license, which theyâll scan. If you didnât do the Rapid Pass ahead of time, you do it there.
They then check your hematocrit â usually by pricking your finger â your blood pressure, and your temperature. You sign a form saying you understand theyâre gonna test your blood for diseases and will contact you if youâve got any.
Time for the scary part. You walk over and lie down on what looks like a massage table. They put a blood cuff around your arm and have you squeeze a squishy thing to enlarge your veins. Once theyâve found a good one, they mark it with a pen.
They apply disinfectant to the whole area.
Steps 4-7 take about half an hour.
They insert the needle, tape it to your wrist, and wait while the bag fills. The normal blood donation takes 3 units, or 3 pints. Each unit is one transfusion, which is why the Red Cross says every donation can save 1-3 lives.
How long step 9 takes depends on you. Several factors are at play: your cardiovascular fitness, your hydration level, and the size of your veins. My speed record for filling the bag is 4 minutes and 4 seconds, but Iâm told thatâs insanely fast. (I guzzle water the day of.)
Once youâve filled the bag, they take the needle out, apply gauze, and tell you to hold it over your head while they secure your donation. Once theyâve done that, they wrap tape around your elbow, which is to stay in place for an hour. The gauze needs to stay in place for about 4 hours.
SNACKS.
There is a critical shortage of O type blood, both O- and O+. There is always a critical shortage of O types, because O- is the universal donor (can give to anyone). However, because of its rarity (only 7% of the population), its use is restricted to babies and pregnant people. The most common blood type used in ERs is type O+.
Yes, this has the potential to cause side effects for people who have any type of - blood. Considering the beyond-critical shortage of O- and the prevalence of + types (85% of the population) vs - types (15% of the population), ERs will usually roll the dice and give you O+ until they figure out what blood type you actually have.
IF YOU HAVE TYPE O BLOOD PLEASE DONATE. Everyone should donate but especially type O.
If you donât know your blood type, good news! The Red Cross will tell you after you donate! Thatâs very useful information for you to have, and they give it to you for free.
And I meanâŠ.theoretically, you could use this process to check for blood diseases like HIV. Itâs free! If you have no other way of accessing that info, the Red Cross will absolutely test your blood and alert you if youâre positive.
Iâm not scared of needles, but I faint at the sight of my own blood. I still go every 8 weeks, because doing so SAVES LIVES. I have donated 8 times. That means Iâve saved the lives of between 8-24 people. Can you imagine how good that feels? 8-24 people are alive because every 8 weeks I plop my ass down in a gym or church or whatever and white-knuckle my phone for 5 minutes.
50% of people are eligible to give blood but only 5% do, and that number falls to catastrophic levels among young people. Millennials and Gen Z give 40% less blood than older generations, and thatâs placing us all at risk.
Changes to the requirements for donating blood coupled with the pandemic have led to a drop-off in the number of teens and young adults dona
So if youâre in the 50% of the population whoâs eligible to donate, roll your sleeves up and avert your eyes, guys. This is THE most basic form of mutual aid you can possibly do.
#i wasn't eligible for a bit there because of anemia#which i'd like to think is better now! (@twofrontteethstillcrooked)
If youâre not sure whether your anemia is better or not, theyâll tell you when they check your hematocrit! Honestly, the whole process is practically a health checkup.
Were you helping refugees at the border last week by donating to mutual aid groups or doing translation and outreach?
Were you calling for ceasefire and doing what you could to aid Palestinians last week? (Esims for gaza here)
Were you talking to your unhoused neighbors with respect and advocating for them and protesting encampment clearances last week? (There's no link just treat people like people and share cash if you can)
Last week were you participating in community meal shares and free stores?
Were you supporting bail funds and protesting the carceral state and trying to stop executions and humanizing incarcerated people last week? (How to write a letter to an incarcerated person)
Were you working to increase access to abortion medications and birth control and abortions in general last week?
Did you share information about DIY HRT and spend time paying attention to the books your school board was banning and make your lgbtqia friends welcome and included last week?
Were you aware of the groundwork being laid for a 2028 general strike and the ways that you could support one (contributing to strike funds, joining and supporting unions, attempting to unionize your workplace) last week?
Were you helping the people around you, were you caring for your friends, were you making information free, were you picking up trash, were you sharing a meal, were you tracking fascists, were you challenging the wrongs done by your government in the ways available to you last week?
Good. Keep doing that.
A better world is possible. Keep working toward it.
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