I've Given A Lot of Blood over the Last Nine Years

When I went to the blood bank on Friday, I saw my total and I was pretty surprised. It seems I have a lifetime total of 7.6 gallons. That's not including the eight times I donated with the Red Cross while living in California.

I've donated a total of 61 times with the two Blood and Tissue Centers, 20 times here in Austin. Now if that number seems inflated, well it sort of is. I've been doing platelet donations for the past couple of years and you can do that 24 times each year compared to the 6-7 times annually with whole blood. You could actually do both if you planned it out but I haven't done that yet. Essentially you'd have to first figure out all the whole blood donations, put those 56 days apart then factor in the 24 platelet donations within 10 days of each other or the whole blood donations.

I haven't gone as often as I should have so far this year, mainly because of work and meetings. The good thing, though, is that when I do go, they have free wireless and I'm able to work while I donate. Then I usually go home early!

If you are not currently a blood donor, I urge you to become one. Fewer than 5% of adults who could be regular blood donors donate at all. Commit to once a quarter. Locate your local blood bank and schedule an appointment.

Apheresis PhD Program for 2008

Today I made my first eligible platelet donation during the PhD Program at the Blood and Tissue Center of Central Texas. It's completely unclear in the Center's documentation as to why it's called the PhD program (it merely states that "PhD represents apheresis donation"; but with a little research I believe it's meant to stand for Personal Hemodialysis, which is the type of device used to separate platelets from whole blood.

During the duration of this program, Hands of the Donor members will have their donations tracked and posted in the donation center lobby at 4300 N. Lamar, Austin, Texas, starting in April 2008. Donations for the month of December 2007 will also be counted towards the total so I am on track to give a total of 27 donations for the period; donors are able to give platelets 24 times each year. I don't know that there is a particular prize beyond a little notoriety, but I'm happy to participate and I hope to convince others to donate as well.

If you are interested in donating blood in the Austin area, please visit the Blood and Tissue Center of Central Texas Web site. The site has lots of information on the various donation programs as well as information on blood and how it's used. You can even schedule an appointment online!