Give Blood, Save A Life

There is a tremendous demand for blood, nationwide. People, however, don't always answer the call. And, for some of us, we are excluded from donating blood because of our lifestyle choices.

In one of the more wrongheaded moves of all time, the American Red Cross has established highly restrictive standards for blood donors. The fact that I lived in the United Kingdom for a cumulative period, in excess of three months, means that I can not donate blood.

I understand that there is no test for vCJD (variant Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease), and that there is a slight possibility that I may have eaten a mad cow while living abroad*, but really, the fact that I am an otherwise healthy male, with no appearance of vCJD some eight years after my last visit to The Continent, makes it highly unlikely that I have the disease. The minimal number of Americans, with vCJD, makes the acceptance of blood from folks like me well worth the risk. The loss to the overall blood supply is enormous.

As for me, I used to donate whenever I was eligible. It started in college, with "Donation Races"--the first one to fill the bag got a six-pack--and ended, sadly, with a call to the American Red Cross, to discuss this policy. The policy needs to be re-examined; or, people need to donate blood. Regularly. Call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE to find out where you can donate.

The life you save may be your own.

*The cow that I ate may have been mad at her fate, but I don't think she was sick.