- Joined
- Dec 17, 2019
- Highlight
- #90,501
Oh also, since I was blinded by the absolute lunacy of the "coof jabs are free" tweet, I wanted to address this one too:
Blood donations are particularly important to me, not because I or family or friends were in the hospital and needed it, and also not because I'm a vampire (though I do have nocturnal habits). They're important to me because they're truly important to everyone. According to the Red Cross, someone in America needs blood every two seconds. No typo, that's how big the need for blood is. Just count to two, and boom, there's another patient in need.
The Red Cross has been talking about urgent need for blood donations for as long as I can remember, and I've been donating for over a decade now. But this is the first time I've seen them pretty much begging people to come in and donate immediately. Their fact sheet about the shortage says it's their worst in over a decade, mostly due to the pandemic. High school and college blood drives have been much more sporadic, causing the number of student donors to plummet. Blood drives have had to be canceled due to staff shortages, weather, or illness, and the overall number of donors has also declined, likely due to people afraid of catching the coof while they're out.
So if I may, I'd like to put out a call to thread regulars or those just passing through: if you haven't already, please consider donating blood. If you've never donated before, trust me, it's nowhere near as bad as you might imagine. In every blood drive I've gone to, the staff has always been very friendly and helpful, they'll walk you through everything they're doing, and they'll help you if you get uncomfortable. It'll only take an hour or so out of your day (depending on how busy it is), and you'll be helping to save a life. Head to the website and find a blood drive near you; I'd suggest making an appointment as appointments are generally served before walk-ins. Eat well and drink plenty of water beforehand, fill out the RapidPass on the Red Cross website before you go to save time at the drive, and have a good meal and more water afterwards. It's simple, it's helpful, and you get some snacks and a T-shirt when you're done. And when you reach particular donation milestones, they'll even send you a commemorative pin; I just passed five gallons with my last donation!
If you need any more motivation, think about Bob. Bob is the absolute last person on Earth who would go to a blood drive. Bob doesn't want any of his precious blood potentially going to a Mayo Ghoul in distress. Bob's going to keep all his blood until the day he keels over from a rage-and-fat-induced heart attack.
Don't be like Bob. Give blood.
Please ignore Bobby's failure to tell a joke. It, like he, is irrelevant. Instead, I'd like to get on a soapbox here for a minute.
Blood donations are particularly important to me, not because I or family or friends were in the hospital and needed it, and also not because I'm a vampire (though I do have nocturnal habits). They're important to me because they're truly important to everyone. According to the Red Cross, someone in America needs blood every two seconds. No typo, that's how big the need for blood is. Just count to two, and boom, there's another patient in need.
The Red Cross has been talking about urgent need for blood donations for as long as I can remember, and I've been donating for over a decade now. But this is the first time I've seen them pretty much begging people to come in and donate immediately. Their fact sheet about the shortage says it's their worst in over a decade, mostly due to the pandemic. High school and college blood drives have been much more sporadic, causing the number of student donors to plummet. Blood drives have had to be canceled due to staff shortages, weather, or illness, and the overall number of donors has also declined, likely due to people afraid of catching the coof while they're out.
So if I may, I'd like to put out a call to thread regulars or those just passing through: if you haven't already, please consider donating blood. If you've never donated before, trust me, it's nowhere near as bad as you might imagine. In every blood drive I've gone to, the staff has always been very friendly and helpful, they'll walk you through everything they're doing, and they'll help you if you get uncomfortable. It'll only take an hour or so out of your day (depending on how busy it is), and you'll be helping to save a life. Head to the website and find a blood drive near you; I'd suggest making an appointment as appointments are generally served before walk-ins. Eat well and drink plenty of water beforehand, fill out the RapidPass on the Red Cross website before you go to save time at the drive, and have a good meal and more water afterwards. It's simple, it's helpful, and you get some snacks and a T-shirt when you're done. And when you reach particular donation milestones, they'll even send you a commemorative pin; I just passed five gallons with my last donation!
If you need any more motivation, think about Bob. Bob is the absolute last person on Earth who would go to a blood drive. Bob doesn't want any of his precious blood potentially going to a Mayo Ghoul in distress. Bob's going to keep all his blood until the day he keels over from a rage-and-fat-induced heart attack.
Don't be like Bob. Give blood.
