World Blood Donor Day
Today is World Blood Donor Day, which is “a global celebration of the millions of people throughout the world who give their blood on a voluntary, unpaid basis to save the lives of those in need.”
In San Francisco, the Irwin Center, now part of Blood Centers of the Pacific, has the distinction of being the first non-profit community blood bank in the US, opening in 1941. Continue the tradition and donate blood today or sometime this week, and consider becoming a regular donor. Another reason to donate: Stanford is reporting shortages in types 0+, 0-, and A-.
Here are some links to the local blood banks. The web sites contains lots of information about appointments, donor requirements, and other donor information.
Just know that if you are a gay man.. You can’t donate..ANYWHERE>.. They don’t want your blood.. They aren’t that desperate
I was snarkingly gonna make this editorial comment as well. Slutty heteros have a free pass though. I guess being British or even briefly living there makes you radioactive too. Rather! ;-)
I was expecting this point to come up. There are a lot of ethical issues around blood products, especially in the areas of plasma, paid donors, gay donors, funding, and the international blood product market. These are difficult issues and the Red Cross and ABC have done their best while making a lot of mistakes over the years. But that doesn’t take away from the important role of voluntary blood donors and the blood bank system.
If you are interested in these issues, I recommend reading the book “Blood: The Epic History of Medicine and Commerce” by Douglas Starr.