Here’s a funny joke offered by fellow-blogger JoanMats who has a terrific blog titled “JM’s iOpeners.” Pay her a visit here.
Here’s her joke, which she got from a friend:
Three vampires walk into a bar. The first one says, “I’ll have a pint of blood.”
The second one says, “I’ll have one, too.”
The third one says, “I’ll have a pint of plasma.”
The bartender says, “So, that’ll be two Bloods and a Blood Lite?”
Thanks, Joan, for putting a big smile on my face!
Prepping for the blood donation — quite frankly, I never gave this much thought because I almost always have had a satisfactory donation. Never felt dizzy or lightheaded. Thirsty, yes, but I quenched that with fruit juices at the canteen.
So I was surprised to learn that the Blood Bank of Hawaii has suggestion on what to do during the 24 hours before your donation. The suggestions make a lot of sense, so I will repeat them here:
Sensible suggestions that are easy to follow. In fact, good rules to live by every day. So thank you, Blood Bank of Hawaii, for reminding me that I have to take care of my health if I want to help others regain their health.
I get a flu shot every year, and I make sure to reveal it on the medical questionnaire when I give blood. The good news is that it is OK to donate blood after receiving the flu vaccination. I try to keep myself healthy so that I remain eligible to give blood.
If you have an eligibility question, call the Blood Bank of Hawaii and speak to one of the helpful and friendly nurses. On Oahu, call 845-9966. On a neighbor island, all toll-free, 1-800-372-9966.
Mahalo to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin for printing the following letter from Bambi Lin Litchman in the March 21, 2009, edition. If you’ve been following this blog, you will remember that the Honolulu Advertiser printed the same letter several days earlier. A big tip of the hat to Bambi Lin Litchman for spreading the word that blood donation is safe, simple and it saves lives. The letter follows:
Be a hero. Save lives. How? It’s easy. Give blood. You’ll even receive juice and cookies afterwards.
Every year almost 5 million Americans will need blood. Twenty-five percent of us will require blood at least once in our lives.
Blood is used to help cancer and surgery patients, accident victims, burn and trauma patients, premature infants and more. Remarkably, a single blood donation might save as many as three lives.
Donating is simple. A brief screening is done with a questionnaire and testing for blood pressure, pulse rate, temperature and hemoglobin. The screening and donating time takes under an hour. The actual donation process takes only about 10 minutes. The blood is then tested for hepatitis C, HIV/AIDS, syphilis and other diseases.
Despite the serious public need for blood donations, only 5 percent of eligible blood donors currently donate. Eligible donors are in good health, are at least 18 years old (17 with permission) and must weigh at least 110 pounds.
Admirably, President Barack Obama has issued a call for public service. Giving blood is an easily accessible and rewarding public service, and it turns out that saving lives is far easier than you think.
For more information call the Blood Bank of Hawaii at 845-9966, or go to: www.bbh.org
Bambi Lin Litchman
Honolulu
The Blood Bank of Hawaii has a Twitter account: hawaiibloodbank.
So far, the Blood Bank of Hawaii has tweeted short messages to announce the dates, times and sites of community blood drives. This is a great way for twitters to learn when a blood drive will be in their neighborhood.
If you don’t have a Twitter account, it’s easy to set up. Just go to twitter.com, follow the sign-up instructions, and voila, you’ve joined the fastest growing social media network. To start receiving the Blood Bankʻs messages, begin by clicking on FIND PEOPLE, type Blood Bank of Hawaii in the box, and then click the SEARCH button. After you find it, click the FOLLOW button to join those who want to receive the Blood Bank’s tweets (messages).
It’s also interesting to read the tweets left by twitters regarding their support for the Blood Bank of Hawaii. I am impressed by the passionate commitment shown by folks to donate blood to save lifes, as well as the sincere appreciation by those whose lives, or the lives of loved ones, were saved by donated blood.
I always assumed I was as red-blooded as the next guy, so imagine my surprise a while ago when I failed the Blood Bank of Hawaiiʻs hemoglobin check. Yup, when the nurse took a drop of blood from my fingertip and dropped it in the blue solution, my blood floated near the top and did not sink to the bottom as it usually did. Boy, I was shocked! I had successfully given blood just 8 weeks before, so what could have happened in that short time to lower my hemoglobin value?
I did some research and found that the most frequent cause is an iron-poor diet. That made sense, but I did not think it applied to me, because my diet and eating habits had not changed over the past two months. Well, there were those fish oil capsules I had started taking to supplement my diet. So I stopped taking the capsules and went to see my doctor. He ordered a complete blood test, which confirmed my low hemoglobin. He then ordered a colonoscopy to see if a polyp, ulcer or cancer was causing some internal bleeding. But my colon and stomach were clean and healthy, much to my relief!
So I waited, giving myself some time to build up my hemoglobin. I did not change my diet much at all, except to eat more brown rice. And I continued my usual exercise routine of swimming laps for a half mile and pushing light weights on alternate days.
The good news is that when I returned to give blood again, I passed the hemoglobin test! My blood drop sank to the bottom of the vial! When I got onto the bed and rolled up my sleeve, I felt like I was back in the saddle again!
As I write this, I am wondering if the fish oil capsules were the culprit. Well, that is something to look into for another posting. But the upshot is, I am happy that my hemoglobin is back to normal and I can continue to donate blood. Happy trails to you until we meet again!
The following letter was published in the Honolulu Advertiser on March 16, 2009. Itʻs great that someone took the time to let others know that donating blood is not only important, but easy! And mahalo to the Honolulu Advertiser for printing it!
SAVE UP TO 3 LIVES WITH EASY HOURLONG PROCESS
HOW CAN YOU BE A HERO, SAVE LIVES, AND THEN RECEIVE JUICE AND COOKIES?
It’s easy — give blood.
Each year nearly 5 million Americans will need blood. Twenty five percent of us will need blood at least once in our lives.
Blood is used to help accident victims, cancer and surgery patients, burn and trauma patients, premature infants and more. A single blood donation may save up to three lives.
Donating is easy. A brief screening is done with a questionnaire, testing for blood pressure, temperature, hemoglobin, and pulse rate.
The screening and donating time takes less than an hour. The actual donation process only takes about 10 minutes. The blood is then tested for HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, syphilis and other diseases.
Eligible donors are in good health, are at least 18 years old (17 with permission) and weigh at least 110 pounds.
President Obama has admirably sounded a call for public service. Giving blood is an easily accessible and rewarding public service.
For more information call the Blood Bank of Hawaii at 845-9966, or go to: www.bbh.org.
Bambi Lin Litchman
Honolulu
I donated my 45th pint of whole blood at the Blood Bank of Hawaii’s Dillingham Donor Center a few days ago. The experience was, as always, very comfortable and satisfying.
As I expected, I was warmly greeted by the registrar when I checked in. She thanked me for coming in to donate. I then noticed a small sign on the counter that the Blood Bank had a critical need for blood. Having O-positive blood, which I know is the universal donor blood, I felt good that my blood would help meet the needs of as many as three patients.
I filled out the health questionnaire. I filled in the “no” circles for most questions. The only “yes” circles were those relating to vaccinations (flu shot), doctor’s care (colonoscopy), and medication (allergies, cholesterol, acid reflux). I turned the form in and took a seat in the waiting area. On the walls were small photos of hundreds of donors who achieved Super Donor level, or 56 pints. As their collection numbers increased, their photos moved up in categories (70, 100, etc.). There is a small group of donors who have given more than 200 pints!
A male nurse called my name and we entered a private room to go over my questionnaire. He took my blood pressure, noted my pulse rate, measured my temperature and took a drop of blood from my fingertip to test my hemoglobin. Then I went to the collection area, where another nurse prepared my arm for the collection by cleaning the area with two antiseptic solutions.
Although I’ve done this 94 times (45 whole blood and 49 platelet donations), I have never gotten use to the needle insertion. But I’ve learned that the fear is always far greater than the actual pain, so it’s become easier for me to calm down and accept it. And as always, the pain was little more than a pinch that quickly disappeared. After pumping my fist for about 8 minutes, I filled the bag and soon the needle was taken out and my arm cleaned and bandaged. What I do appreciate every time is the attention the nurses give me. Not that I crave attention, but it is comforting that the nurse checks on you regularly, asks how you are doing, and offers encouraging words to make you feel that you are doing a good job.
After resting on the bed for about 5 minutes, I walked to the canteen and drank two cans of fruit juice and ate a chocolate chip cookie and a char siu manapua. I love the snacks and refreshing drinks!
I’ll be giving again in 8 weeks if, cross my fingers, I don’t get sick from the cold that’s going around.
Ellice Flores, reporter for Kapiolani Community Collegeʻs Kapio Newspress, wrote this great story about a blood drive at KCC:
For every person that donates blood, three people are saved. Hawai‘i patients count on a healthy flow of blood supply for their survival.
Typically a donor’s blood is used for patients from surgical procedures, treatment of accident victims, ulcers, anemia and cancer.
The Blood Bank of Hawai‘i, a non-profit organization, provides blood to all civilian hospitals throughout the state.
The Blood Bank holds blood drives at KCC usually four times during the year, according to Randall Kusaka, communications assistant for the Blood Bank of Hawai‘i. For this year, the Blood Drives are scheduled to be held on Jan. 26, April 13, Sept. 28 and Nov. 23.
For each blood drive, the blood bank sets a goal as too how much blood they want to receive. “The goals differ for every drive and they range from 30 to 50 pints,” Kusaka said. “Because each person donates one pint, you can say that from 30 to 50 students and faculty members participate in each drive.”
There are a few basic donor requirements. All donors must be in good health, be 18-years-old or older (minors must have parental consent), have a valid photo identification and weigh 100 pounds or more. Some factors may require a waiting period which includes a one-year wait upon getting a tattoo or body piercing. Also, donors who have traveled internationally may need to wait before donating depending on the length of the stay.
The procedure of donating is very safe. Donors are given a mini-physical, which includes checking blood pressure, pulse, temperature and weight. All equipment used for the blood donation is sterile and disposable.
“It’s not that scary. It’s just a little poke,” said Marcus Smith, 22, computer science major. “I like to watch the blood drip. Sometimes they give you food after.”
Student Anthony Newman has never given blood before, but if there was ever a time he needed to, he would do it. “I would donate blood because I’ve been in situations where I needed help and nobody helped me,” said Newman, 23, American Sign Language major. “So if anybody ever needed my help, I want to be there to help.”
According to Kusaka, 60 percent of the population will need blood sometime in their lives, but only two percent of Hawai‘i’s population donates blood.
“It is important to give blood because there is no substitution for blood,” Kusaka said. “Because each pint of whole blood is separated intro three components–platelets, red blood cells and plasma–a single donation can help save the lives of three people. So the 40 people who donate blood at KCC’s Jan. 26 drive will help save the lives of 120 people.”
© Copyright 2009 The Kapio Newspress
A story about a blood drive at Kaiser High School was published in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin on April 7, 2008. The article, written by Sarah Epstein of Kaiser High School, follows:
Nothing is more vital to human survival than blood. Yet 4.5 million Americans need blood each year.
The Blood Bank of Hawaii came to Kaiser Feb. 28 to collect blood from students, faculty, and other donors.
The blood bank needs around 200 blood donors every day to meet the demand of Hawaii’s hospitals. Patients who have cancer, anemia and heart diseases need blood, Not to mention people undergoing surgeries, victims of car accidents and women who give birth.
“We needed to educate people that blood is the only resource that cannot be duplicated,” said Rinda Fernandes, student activities coordinator and coordinator of the Kaiser blood drive. “Science has not found a way to make it, but so many people need it.”
Fernandes, along with Kaiser’s National Honor Society, started planning the blood drive in December.
“We organized the facilities, donations of blood, food, and money, and (took care of) the setup, cleanup and refreshments,” said Fernandes. “The NHS members each had to get five donors, and they hustled to get people to turn in their forms.”
This year, 98 students, teachers and staff were recruited as blood donors, not to mention the walk-in donors from the community. For these people to be able to donate, they had to be 17 years old (with parental consent) or 18 and older, weigh 110 pounds or heavier, go through a blood test, take a questionnaire and answer confidential questions from nurses. If a potential donor can’t meet these requirements, he or she is deferred.
Last year, 30 people were deferred. By the second hour of this year’s blood drive, seven people were deferred.
“I’m a little concerned about the number of deferrals so early in the drive,” said Fernandes.
Junior Garett Sato was deferred because he was sick.
“I was disappointed that I couldn’t contribute to my community,” he said.
Deferment because of an illness is understandable. However, senior Kyle Niiro was deferred because he coughed once.
“All I did was cough and they said I couldn’t donate,” said Niiro. “That was kind of sad because I was looking forward to donating blood.”
Recently tattooed junior James Decker also was deferred from the blood drive, even though his tattoo was done by a professional.
“I was a little upset about it,” he said. “But I knew where they were coming from, so I wasn’t that upset.”
Biology teacher Joshua Lawrence, however, went to the Amazon jungle and was then deferred from the blood drive because of the possibility of transferring a disease.
“I was a little disappointed that they didn’t want my blood,” said Lawrence, “because it’s clean. But it’s to be safer.”
Among the donors who were not deferred was senior Jonathan Chin.
“My friend actually pressured me into this,” he said. “But (another) friend of mine had a pin that said ‘Blood Donator’ and he said he donated six gallons of blood, and I said ‘Wow!’ so I wanted to donate.”
Although the process of donating blood can be a little uncomfortable, most of the donors feel good about it.
“It’s satisfying,” said senior Eric Fleming. “You know your donation is going to save lives.”
The goal for Kaiser’s blood drive was 60 pints. The actual amount of blood drawn exceeded that goal by 24 pints for a grand total of 84. Each pint saves the lives of three people, so 84 pints of blood can help 252 people.
“It’s a great thing to meet target goals,” said Fernandes. “But even if we didn’t make the goal, we still make a difference. Even if we only got one pint of blood, we would still save three lives.”
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