This evening lots of young trick or treaters will be roaming the streets of our towns and cities and there may be a scary vampire or two in the mix. I'm one of those people who has a very low "creep-out" threshold so I stay away from books and movies that terrorize. I did read a pretty good Dracula novel this summer called The Historian.
Doesn't it seem appropriate that on Hallowe'en there is a strong appeal for blood donors in the midst of a dangerous shortage of blood and blood products? We were talking about this around our table yesterday and realized that none of the four adults in our household has ever given blood. We were wondering why, since we tend to be civic-minded. We are going to seek out one of the clinics which have been set up around town.
Our Christian faith has lots of blood in it: the blood of Christ on the cross and the blood of the martyrs recognized tomorrow on All Saints Day. A central premise of our faith is that we have received a great gift through blood shed for us, and even though we downplay that bloody aspect of Christianity in our day it is still important.
Maybe we should look at giving our blood as an act of Christian service, perhaps saving the life of someone we have never met. Have you given blood before, and will you do so again?
Sorry, can't help you with this one. I pass out giving as little as one vial of blood. So embarrassing, but I have been asked to remind the nurses at the clinic that I need to lay down when having a blood test. I feel like such an idiot when this happens. I never expect it, even though it has happen several times now. Apparently this is just the way it is for some people. But I have filled out my organ donor card if that helps. My brain may be seen on Oprah some day, hopefuly not as the "bad" example.
ReplyDeleteI too have a low creep out threshold. I can look at brains and other organs in the right setting if I am in a state of learning, but watching gore in a state of morbid curiousity has never been my thing.
I too have never donated blood and feel guilty that I haven't. I wonder if it is a learned behaviour? If our parents and siblings never did it, we don't do it either.Not an excuse, just wondering what the reason behind my lack of response in this area might be....besides fear of pain.Like you David, I feel in many respects to be a "good citizen".Maybe this blog will prick my conscience enough to do something about it. Maybe!
ReplyDeletePrick your conscience to prick your arm. I like it Shirley!
ReplyDeleteI have given blood since the days the clinics came to my high school. I really believe it and have given over 35 donations. For the one hour that it takes me to give it makes a world of difference to at least 4 people. I try to give every 56 days and lately I have been wondering about even trying to do more. For those that want to make the call it's 1-888-2-DONATE. I too don't like the creepy things and have low spook-tolerance levels.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mom of 2. That's an impressive record! Thanks for being practical and giving us the contact number.
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