Saturday, March 22, 2008

Good Deed for the Day

I donated blood today. I became a blood donor while in university and except for an eight-year hiatus during which I was trying to conceive, pregnant or nursing, I've made it a regular habit. It's only an hour of my time and one little poke in the arm every few months, yet that pint of blood could help save someone's life. I encourage all of you to donate blood, if you are physically able. I passed the 25 donations mark a while back and now that I'm over 30 donations, my next goal is 50 pints. It will take a few years to get there.

I'm also on the bone marrow transplant list. It's not something everyone is comfortable with doing, but I thought long and hard about it before deciding to register for the program. I've never been contacted other than providing the initial blood sample. Perhaps one day I'll be able to help someone in need.

UPDATE: Please check out Emru's website, http://www.healemru.com. Emru left a comment on this post - he's a leukemia patient hoping for a match from the bone marrow registry. The more people on the registry, the better the chances for people like Emru.

3 comments:

Emru Townsend said...

As a leukemia patient who's received 25 transfusions in the last three months and is awaiting a bone marrow transplant... thank you.

http://www.healemru.com

Canadian Girl said...

Hi Emru, thanks for visiting. I hope with all my heart that you find a bone marrow donor very soon. Best wishes to you and your family. I hope you don't mind - I've updated my blog post and added a link to your website. It would be nice if people would read your story and be motivated to join the bone marrow registry.

Emru Townsend said...

I don't mind at all -- the site is there to get the word out as far and wide as possible. Thanks again!