One of the many items on today's agenda was for me to stop by Canadian Blood Services for a donor appointment. I've been a fairly regular donor for many years and have recently made the switch from doing whole blood donations to plasma donations instead. Part of what encouraged me to make that change was finding out that most of the whole blood people donate is actually separated down for plasma anyway - the disadvantage being that each whole blood donation results in only a half a unit of plasma. By donating plasma directly (a process whereby the whole blood is removed, the plasma separated from the red blood cells and the red cells are then reintroduced to your body) an entire unit of plasma can be donated. An added bonus is that your body regenerates plasma quickly, so instead of waiting the requisite 56 days between whole blood donations you can arrange another plasma donation in as quickly as two weeks. At the end of my appointment I was surprised to learn I've hit the "25 donations" mark, and was given this pretty little pin... while knowing my donations can help accident victims, burn patients and those fighting cancer is enough for me, the pin was a great place to launch a conversation with my young daughter, who I imagine will be a blood donor herself one day.
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