Help A Friend or Relative: Give Blood

Most of us have—or will have—a close friend or relative battling cancer. We will hear their horror stories of undergoing chemo and radiation treatments, drugs and possibly intense surgery to stop the disease’s spread. The worst part for us is feeling helpless to do anything about their pain and suffering.

Here’s some news: there is something you can do that takes very little time and effort on your part and will help them or someone else. All you need to do is donate blood.

Cancer patients need blood for three reasons:

1. Chemotherapy, radiation treatments and cancerous cells reduce the body's blood cell counts. Blood is frequently drawn from patients to check their white and red blood cell levels. When the levels drop too low, more blood is required. Consequences of low blood cell counts include anemia (low energy), infection and bleeding. Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cancer-treatment/CA00066

2. Blood is often required when surgery to remove cancerous cells is performed. Donating for an individual ensures blood is available for them.

3. Each blood donation saves the patient money when transfusions are required. Hospitals sell units of whole blood cells for amounts ranging from $150-$600 for whole blood cells, charging even more for the platelets used to treat cancer patients. The actual amount charged to each patient varies depending on their location, the supply of blood available at that moment and other factors. Fees are based not on the cost of blood--free from donations--but the cost of testing, storage, transport and administrative overhead.

Donating blood for a given individual is extremely simple. First, check with your local blood bank for their requirements. Assuming your blood bank’s requirements are similar to mine, you will need to provide this information when making your donation:

· Your friend’s or relative’s name and date of birth. If you don’t have the information handy, ask a close friend or immediate relation.

· The name and address of the hospital where they receive treatment. If you can get the name from your friend, you can find the address on-line by using a search engine such as Google or Yahoo!

I’m offering to help author Jay Lake (Joseph E. Lake, Jr.) who is battling cancer and whose Twitter comments I follow. He gave me the name of his hospital (Oregon Health Sciences University, 3181 S.W. Sam Jackson Park Rd., Portland, Oregon 97239-3098). His birth date is listed on his Wikipedia entry (June 6, 1964).

With that information in hand, I’m ready to visit my local blood bank and make a donation. Donors are required to wait 56 days between donations, which means I can next donate on June 9. Even though my blood type and Lake’s are not identical, he will get credit for my donation.

I’ll be bringing my photo ID (driver’s license) with me when I visit the Marshall Community Blood Center that day. Blood banks in your area will be in the phone book or you can do an on-line search.

Once I get there, every donor is required to fill out a form. Blood banks have rules that ensure your donation does not hurt you nor your blood affect whoever receives it.

Among the common questions asked of every donor are: Are you feeling well and healthy today? Have you ever paid for sex or drugs? Have you had any tattoos done recently? Have you traveled to the United Kingdom or Europe recently? Are you pregnant?

Taking some prescription drugs will either require you to wait a bit or disqualify you permanently. One of the most common drugs affecting men is Propecia, which is often found in hair loss treatments.

Filling out this form takes 5-10 minutes. Once completed, a nurse or phlebotomist (a person trained to draw blood) will check your blood pressure and draw a drop from your finger (the needles used now are very thin and cause very little discomfort). This drop is placed in a solution. If it sinks, you can donate. If not, you need to wait.

Assuming you’re ready to go, you get to lie back in a chair similar to a yard recliner. The actual blood donation process takes less than 30 minutes. You must wait about 15 minutes and drink water or juice afterward before heading out. Many blood banks also provide snacks like cookies and hot dogs.

While it’s illegal to pay you for donating blood, some blood banks give away T-shirts or gift-certificates to local businesses. Community service groups may provide a free breakfast or lunch. Check with your specific blood bank for any special offers.