June 14 is World Blood Donor Day

Looking for a more practical way to help your fellow human beings instead “praying” for them to get well? Good thoughts and well wishes may be well and good but for an unfortunate few, more concrete help will be more appreciated than magically wishing for them to get well.

June is statistically one of the low seasons for blood bank supplies, thus the annual awareness campaign for the need for more people to step up to the challenge of giving something of themselves… literally.

The 2010 global campaign focuses on Young Donors, with the slogan “New blood for the world”. It hopes that a new generation of idealistic and motivated voluntary unpaid blood donors will form a pool that provides the safest blood possible for use wherever and whenever it is needed to save life.

source: http://www.who.int/worldblooddonorday/en/

Some excerpts from Philippine Red Cross Secretary General Gwendolyn Pang:

Young blood is what we need. We need a new breed of heroes. That’s why we say a blood donor is a hero. It’s so nice to see young people giving blood as it is a testament of the hope and future of our National Blood Program and a reflection of the kind of society we have today given the challenges we face. We are still a country of good-hearted, volunteer blood donors.

Blood donation is not dramatic and requires no grandstanding. It is plain and simple but with a great desire to lend a helping hand to someone without the lights and the camera. In blood donation, you never outdo, outwit and outlast anybody to become the hero you wanted to be. It’s only true when you want to be the sole survivor in the world!

Every second, someone in the world needs blood. Majority of the world’s population do not have access to safe blood and it can only be provided by blood donors who will voluntary and willingly donate their precious blood to save a life — a life of a mother giving birth, a victim of certain accident, a boy who is suffering  from leukemia, a child with dengue or a father who is undergoing open heart surgery.

Millions of people owe their lives to people who are not personally acquainted to them in one way or another – these are the people who give their blood freely and without hesitation, without asking anything in return.

In the Philippines, 9 out of 10 Filipinos will need blood sometime in their lives. With the demand for blood increasing every day and with its shelf life of 35 days, it is important that blood donation becomes a regular custom in the Philippines especially among the youth.

source: http://www.redcross.org.ph/Site/PNRC/secgen.aspx

Blood is life. And it’s the best gift you could ever give because more often than not, its a matter of life-and-death.  It’s not just a gift of blood, it’s a gift of life. One simply can’t rely on prayers to God to help make people get well because well, frankly, he’s been slouching off lately, and we’re in short supply of miracles nowadays. So it’s up to us then to make a difference because in the end, it’s people that help other people (… and don’t let the Objectivists tell you otherwise… altruism is good) 🙂

comic strip courtesy of: Least I Could Do

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8 comments

  1. One more important aspect is that if you are an elderly person, travel insurance regarding pensioners is something you should really look at. The older you are, a lot more at risk you happen to be for allowing something poor happen to you while overseas. If you are not covered by some comprehensive insurance coverage, you could have many serious troubles. Thanks for revealing your guidelines on this blog.

  2. The Red Cross shoulda have held a movie premiere of that next Twilight movie then milk the moviegoers for blood while watching the flick. And the nurses should be in cosplaying in goth attire. Nothing like watching a cheesy vamp movie to get you in the mood for bloodletting 😀

    • @Wesley

      Well one thing's for sure – making a vampire buff watch any of those three POS films is going to make them cry out for blood 🙂

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