Donate Blood!

Evening all!

I am imploring to everyone to please go out and donate blood and register for the bone marrow registry. Since I was 18, I've tried to donate blood on a regular basis. Granted, I really hate needles. I think getting my finger pricked is a 5 second hell that I constantly trying to squirm away from. However, when I went to college, one of my closest friends revealed that her life was saved by blood donations. Someone else very near to me is saved on a regular due to blood transfusions.

Sickle cell anemia is a blood disease that plagues so many African-Americans and most people don't even know what it is. They require blood transfusions sometimes every few months in order to help their body "rebuild" themselves. They suffer through debilitating pain for days, sometimes weeks, at a time when they go through a pain crisis. If a crisis isn't properly treated, they may die. Family members, friends, and significant others also suffer when their loved one has it. They may not carry the disease themselves, but they still live with it. I'm giving a very rough overview of sickle cell anemia but if you'd like to know more, please go here. This is just one of the ways a blood donation or being on the bone marrow registry may save a life. This just happens to be one cause very near and dear to my heart.

There are not enough minorities out there willing to donate and save a life. So I'm seriously asking you to go and donate and if for some reason you can't, volunteer at a Red Cross. Raise awareness. Do something.