Why Brett Alan Is Thankful He Tried Donating Blood Again

When I was little, I remember my dad donating blood and having a certain pride in giving something that can mean so much to someone we didn't even know. Over the years, I've tried to donate but for whatever reason, wasn't able to give a full pint of blood. I kind of just wrote it off.

But recently, I decided to try one more time, and I had the best experience with American Red Cross of Western New York. Not only was I able to donate a full pint without any drama, but they also reminded me that I was donating "liquid gold" because my blood type is O negative, which is the most common type used for transfusions when the recipient's blood type is unknown since it's a universal blood type.

The need for blood donation is constant: Someone in the United States needs to receive a blood donation every two seconds, according to the American Red Cross. When they donate, most people probably think of people in a serious car accident or undergoing heart surgery or an organ transplant, but blood donations also help burn victims, cancer patients, people with sickle cell disease, and patients with a wide variety of chronic conditions.

The actual process of collecting the blood took about 10 minutes, so I'd say it's realistic to think you can donate blood in 30 minutes or so, depending on how quickly you move through the registration process and how many other people are at the donation site at the same time.

It blows my mind to think I immeasurably helped someone just by giving 10 minutes of my time. You can give once every 56 days, so I'm going to make a greater effort to donate regularly myself. If it's been a while since you donated or even if you've never donated, I really encourage you to give it a try. Click here to learn more and register to donate.