4%

Last night I got a call on my cell from a number I didn't recognize. It was the Carter BloodCare folks who collect blood in the DFW area. They were looking for their donation and I scolded myself mentally for answering a number I didn't recognize.

I believe in giving but I don't necessarily give on a regular schedule. Fitting it into my schedule can be a pain. Then I remembered my church announcing an upcoming blood drive so I asked them if by chance they were doing it. They said they were, and it was the following morning, so I signed up.

After signing in and waiting to go through the qualification questions, I noticed the following sign:

The last line struck me. Less than 4% of the population, about 10 percent of those eligible donate.

Later I asked one of the technicians how long does blood last and he told me 42 days...but they never get to that and are usually in a short supply situation explaining the call last night. I asked if those statistics were local or national...they're national.

So my next thought was if more people knew this fact, would the number go up?

My donation this morning took about 60 minutes total out of my schedule. A first timer will add 10-15 minutes looking for a donation center or blood drive event to go to in their area. Trust me, after that they will call you. (Note to self: Another 5-10 minutes to be more proactive is not a big time killer...)

So my plea to all of my network is to just 'like' this article so this awareness may spread to your networks and then ask them to do the same.

I started thinking about the people I'll never know that have been helped or will be and there's just no denying that this is something all of us eligible have gotta do. And while I pray that it doesn't, this may hit close to home.

Thanks for reading this.

And thanks to all of the Carter BloodCare folks, Bloodworks Northwest folks and all blood collection folks across the country who persistently reach out to all of us to help keep people alive.