There Are Real-Life Superheroes

I give blood not to be a hypocrite ...
In one of my past lives, I was asked to write a piece promoting my company’s blood drive. I was the director of communications for a major pharma firm based in Manhattan, and here I was spouting out in the employee newsletter all the literally lifesaving reasons to give blood, and I had never done it myself! I realized if someone were to ask me – “Have you given blood, Angelo?” – I’d be embarrassed. If hypocrite is defined as someone who preaches a thing but does not himself do it, well, you would have seen my picture next to the word in the dictionary. Why hadn’t I, a healthy man then in his 30s, given blood? Simple. It had never come up before. I knew nothing about donating blood, and certainly had no idea how critically urgent it is. I was oblivious to the good reasons to give, like:

• It can make you a real-life superhero! Only one pint of your blood can potentially help save up to three lives!
• Men who donate blood at least once a year prevent elevated iron levels, and have an 88% lower risk of heart attacks than men who don’t. Seriously.
• Not counting the screening questions, the actual blood donation only takes about 10 minutes.
• Apart from the brief light needle prick in the crook of the elbow, the process is essentially painless. I read as I recline giving blood.
• You yourself might one day need blood. About 25% of us will need blood at least once in our lives.
• You instantly lose weight! Well, one pound ... temporarily. But they say you can burn about 650 calories while donating a pint of blood. Who knew?
• And giving blood can make you feel good about yourself, reduce stress, and improve your emotional health.

The bottom line is this: people who are ill, undergoing surgery, or who have suffered a serious injury need replacement blood to recover. Medicine has advanced spectacularly in the last 100 years, but there’s just no way to manufacture blood. The only place to get it for those in need is from us, donors. Not everyone is eligible to give blood, but, if you can pitch in, you need not go far. OneBlood, a Florida-based non-profit providing blood to more than 300 hospitals (mostly in Florida), has a Donation Center in DeLand at the shopping center on S. Woodland Blvd. and W. Taylor Rd.
And, if being a real lifesaving superhero isn’t enough, when you give at OneBlood, you get a nifty t-shirt and a $20 gift card. In the year and a half that I’ve lived in Deland, I’ve given blood three times. I’m no hypocrite. And I love free t-shirts.

Head to www.oneblood.org/donate-now to schedule your donation now.