Apr 302012
Next week will be special for me, as I will be making my first blood donation after a nearly six year hiatus!
The six year wait was necessitated by the requirement that I complete all cancer treatment and then have a clearance time period before being eligible to donate again.
I had been donating a long time and had received my 100 donation badge.
I am blood type O Rhesus factor negative, what is often called a universal donor as in an emergency it can be used for the other blood types, A, B and AB.
These with the Rhesus factor are the two major blood antigens. (There are other blood antigens such as Kell, Kidd etc which also have an effect on transfusions.)
I donated as a way of giving back and making a difference.
So you can imagine my excitement when I was sorting through some items from my Grandmother’s home and found the below letter from 1951 relating to my Grandfather.
He was also a blood type O. I don’t know how many donations he made but I am pleased that we have both done something that can make such a difference, literally the difference between life and death!
So yes, my blood is worth bottling! How about yours?
