By Jim Blanks

If you knew that you had the ability to save another person’s life, would you do it? If you had the chance to be a hero, would you take it?

There is such an opportunity, and it doesn’t require superpowers, or wealth, or any great sacrifice. All it takes is one hour; all it takes is one pint of blood.

Every community needs a reliable source of blood, and now that Kaweah Delta Medical Center has been designated a trauma center, the need locally has only increased. Victims of car accidents and patients undergoing surgery all need blood.

In 1983, former auto mechanic Ted Ganiron was involved in an automobile crash. “It was a nasty accident,” he says. “I broke both legs, broke my nose, knocked out my teeth.”

Ganiron needed several units of blood to keep him alive during surgery. The accident would become a turning point in his life.

This is just one example that makes it clear the availability of blood can be the difference between saving and losing a life.

“The units are used for those patients who are in need of a blood transfusion,” says Clinical Scientist and Blood Bank Section Chief Carol Young of Kaweah Delta. “Anyone from an infant to an older person having surgery needs blood.”

“It really is the gift of life,” Ganiron adds. “When you need blood, there really is no substitute.”

How to be a hero

Here is where the opportunity for heroism arises. If you have an hour to spare to donate blood, you can save a life.

Someone who knows the value of donated blood is Emergency Room R.N. Erin Lebow. As a donor and a nurse, she experiences the process from both sides.

“I can see the impact it has on families,” Lebow says. “It is rewarding to donate one day, and then the next day, hang a bag of blood for a patient in the emergency room.”

The process is not complicated: When you arrive at the donation center, you register and then go through a screening process. This includes answering questions about your health and medical history and having a blood sample drawn. This ensures you are healthy enough to donate blood, and that your blood is safe to give to others.

There are certain situations in which donation may be deferred. One of the most common is a low iron level. Potential donors should eat foods that are high in iron such as red meat, and dark green vegetables.

If you pass the screening, you will have your blood collected, which takes roughly fifteen minutes. The entire process (screening, blood collection, and recovery) takes about an hour.

That pint of blood is typically ready for use within twenty-four hours, which means when you donate you can have a direct impact on an emergency situation the very next day. Within twenty-four hours your own blood levels will typically return to normal, so although you will not greatly feel the impact of your donation, someone in the community certainly will.

Donors can return to the blood center every eight weeks for another collection. But it isn’t just whole blood that people need; donors can give platelets, plasma or bone marrow.

If you donate plasma, you will be able to return every four weeks to do so. Through a process called aphoresis, the blood is drawn out and a machine separates out the plasma before returning the blood to the donor’s system. Because this technique does not lower blood levels in the body, donors are eligible to return sooner for another donation.

So let’s do some quick math: If you donate one pint of blood every eight weeks, you will end up giving six pints a year. Think of what those six pints can do. Think of what you can accomplish if you and a friend donate together.

“We are always in short supply of our precious blood components,” Young says. “We wish we could inspire more people to donate.”

Why so few donors in America?

If donating blood is so easy, the question becomes: Why aren’t more people donating? Here is a sobering thought: Of all eligible blood donors in America, only about 5% donate on a regular basis. What keeps people away from donation centers?

According to the Red Cross, one of the most common reasons is that people do not like needles. But, if you walk into your blood donation center today and give a pint, you will feel that needle for, literally, seconds. Compare that discomfort to the possibility of adding years to a human life.

“It’s the fear of the unknown,” Ganiron says. “People think it’s this great big needle, but it’s really not.”

And, Lebow adds, blood donation centers are staffed by a thoughtful, knowledgeable medical team that has experience dealing with anxious donors.

“The staff knows that people are sometimes nervous or uncomfortable around needles, so they will help you,” Lebow says. “They aren’t going to sneak up on you.”

Donors are critical to the community, Young says, adding, “They are the lifelines to many recipients.”

Another reason people don’t give blood: They never really thought about it. Most days, we don’t think about medical emergencies; in fact, most of us probably don’t ever think about emergencies until we are faced with one.

“That car accident was a huge turning point,” Ganiron says. Not only did it cause him to understand the necessity of donating and receiving blood, but it changed his entire trajectory in life; following the accident, he entered the medical field and became a Registered Nurse.

According to the Central California Blood Center, which provides blood and blood products for the 31 hospitals in Tulare, Fresno, Madera, Mariposa, and Kings counties, 75% of Americans will need blood by the age of 72. This means three out of four people will need a transfusion in their lifetime. Think about your friends, your family and loved ones as you drive past the donation center.

“You shouldn’t be too busy to donate blood,” Ganiron says.

So, please, donate today. It does not take a great effort, but the rewards are immense.

It is rare that we are given the chance to so dramatically change another person’s life. Here is just such an opportunity. The question is: Will you take it?

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