My 46th pint of donated blood…

I donated my 46th pint of whole blood last week at the Blood Bank of Hawaii’s Dillingham Donor Center.

One of the things that make donating blood such an enjoyable experience is the opportunity to talk to the nurses who take care of me during the entire procedure. The first nurse went over my medical history with me. I found out she is from American Samoa and enjoys working for the Blood Bank. She has such a sweet personality that she made me feel happy that she was working for the Blood Bank, too.

The other nurse I talked to was relatively new, having been hired the previous month. She took care of me when the collection stopped. She removed the needle, took care of the bag and tubes, cleaned my arm and applied the bandage. Turns out she is a Castle High School grad and was graduated from a local college before working at the Blood Bank. She was very pleasant with a quick smile to make you feel good that you gave blood.

Afterward, I walked to the Blood Bank’s canteen and helped myself to a refreshing can of juice and a hot char siu manapua. Ono!

I am eligible to give again in July. I am looking forward to it!

Cute Japanese blood donation mascots

Surfing the Net today, I landed on an enjoyable web site featuring official mascot characters used by Japanese government agencies to recruit blood donors. Here’s an example of what you’ll read (the text is in English):

“Japan’s most well-known blood donation mascot is Kenketsu-chan (”blood donation girl”), a little pixie with big shiny drops of blood for ears. Kenketsu-chan is the official blood donation mascot of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare…

“Kenketsu-chan’s ears shrink when she runs low on blood, but return to their original size when people donate. We also know that she comes from Tasuke Island (Help Island), which features a heart-shaped spring at its center. The spring shoots forth rainbows that carry Kenketsu-chan to wherever people need blood.”

Have fun by clicking here.

A shout out to high school donors

Want to read some good news about today’s teenagers? I received my copy of the Blood Bank of Hawaii’s annual report for 2008 in the mail a few weeks ago, and there is a great article about high school blood drives.

Get this:

• Last year, 43 high schools in Hawaii hosted 76 blood drives; and
• They donated 4,773 pints of blood, helping to save over 14,000 lives.
• The 4,773 pints accounted for 7 percent of the Blood Bank’s total collection.

The article spotlighted Kamehameha Schools-Kapalama, which collected 208 pints of blood in the 2007-08 school year. This was an amazing turnaround from the previous year’s total of 85 pints. And even more impressive, 152 donors were first-timers in the 2007-08 year.

But whether it’s a large drive or small, every pint counts so the Blood Bank acknowledged every school. As the Blood Bank stated:

“Young donors are increasingly important to the blood community as current donors — the World War II generation and baby boomers — will, at some point, become ineligible to donate.”

That’s an important point. As donors get older and become ineligible for health and other reasons, the younger generation will have to replace them. There’s no better time to start than at the earliest eligible age, which is 18 years (17 with a signed Blood Bank parent or legal guardian consent form).

Here are the 43 schools:

1. Aiea High School
2. Anuenue School
3. Baldwin High School
4. Campbell High School
5. Castle High School
6. Farrington High School
7. Hawaii Baptist Academy
8. Hawaii Preparatory Academy
9. Hawaii Youth Challenge Academy
10. Hilo High School
11. Iolani School
12. Kahuku High School
13. Kailua High School
14. Kaimuki High School
15. Kaiser High School
16. Kalaheo High School
17. Kalani High School
18. Kamehameha Schools-Kapalama
19. Kamehameha Schools-Maui
20. Kapaa High School
21. Kapolei High School
22. Kauai High School
23. Kealakehe High School
24. King Kekaulike High School
25. Le Jardin Academy
26. Leilehua High School
27. Maryknoll School
28. McKinley High School
29. Mid-Pacific Institute
30. Mililani High School
31. Moanalua High School
32. Nanakuli High & Intermediate School
33. Pearl City High School
34. Punahou School
35. Radford High School
36. Roosevelt High School
37. Sacred Hearts Academy
38. Saint Louis School
39. St. Andrew’s Priory School
40. Waiakea High School
41. Waialua High & Intermediate School
42. Waianae High School
43. Waipahu High School