Do You Donate Blood?

Here is a persuasive speech I did a while back for a college course.

Everyday in the United States 32,000 units of blood are used, and every 3 seconds someone needs blood whether it is a child with leukemia, someone with sickle cell disease or someone's grandfather who needs heart surgery. Did you know that 3 gallons of blood can satisfy the need for blood for only 1 minute in the United States? I want to persuade you to donate blood, because donating blood can save others lives.

If people did not donate blood, close to 5 million Americans would die a year without blood transfusions. Also, about 1 of every 10 people who enter a hospital will need a blood transfusion. About 60% of the population in the US is eligible to donate, however only 5% donate on a yearly basis. Usually blood centers have shortages of type O and B blood, and shortages of all types of blood occur the most around holidays and during the summer. There isn't a substitute for human blood. This is why it is important to donate blood to keep shortages from happening.

The best way to solve this problem is to donate blood. You can donate no matter what blood type you have because blood type AB is the universal recipient, it can accept all type of blood and O negative is the universal donor, anyone who needs a transfusion, no matter what type of blood they have, can accept O negative blood. There are requirements and steps to the donating process. The requirements are: age - you must be 17 years of age to donate; weight - you must be at least 110 lbs; you must eat a balanced meal within 4 hours before donating. There are also health requirements; when you go to donate blood they will ask you questions about your health and lifestyle to see if you are eligible to donate or not; they will also test the iron level in your blood before you donate. Once they ask you questions about your health and medical history, they will do a brief physical exam, and then you can donate blood. Many people are busy with their everyday lives, but donating blood does not take much time. The whole process takes about 45 minutes, and only 10 of those minutes are actually when you are donating your blood. You can only donate every 8 weeks, so that is only about 4.5 hours a year. Also, many people think they will feel too weak after donating, but you only donate 1 pint, and the average adult has 10 pints in their body, and they require you to stay after for about 10 minutes for free snacks and drinks to help replenish the liquids and sugars in your body. Some people are afraid of getting infectious diseases such as AIDS from donating blood, but that does not happen. Infectious diseases are not transmitted by donating blood. If all blood donors could donate 2 to 4 times a year, it could help prevent blood shortages. Donating does not take up a lot of time and it can help save others, and donating just 1 unit of blood can save up to 3 peoples lives.

Someone you know or even you may need a blood transfusion sometime in the future, so I would like you all to try and donate blood if you are eligible to. You can donate at your local blood donation centers, and other local places may hold blood drives such as schools and churches. It will only take 45 minutes out of your day, and just in that little amount of time you can help someone out whom really needs it. Remember there is no substitute for human blood. Spending 45 minutes of your time to donate 1 pint of your blood can save as many as 3 other lives.

For more info check out the supporting links.

Resources:
http://www.giveapint.org/
http://www.bloodcenters.org/default.htm