If you have never donated blood before, January is the perfect month to start as the month is designated as National Blood Donor Month.
There is always a need for blood and donating blood is safe and easy.
Donated blood is used for many things such as surgical patients, trauma patients or patients with disorders that require transfusion.
To donate blood, a donor completes a donor registration form and you review your healthy history and have a mini physical. A technician will then hook you up for the blood draw, which usually takes 8-10 minutes. If, however, you are donating platelets, red cells, or plasma, donation can take up to two hours.
Taking this small amount of time out of your day can save someone's life. The American Red Cross states that every two seconds someone in the United States is in need of a transfusion. You can visit the American Red Cross website to find a blood drive near you.
