The last few posts have been really boring and merely entailed me banging on about my not very exciting life as a mad, clumsy student with no money.
Because of this, I thought it was time to go back to writing something a little more serious, and today I've chosen to write a bit about blood donation. Right now, NHS Blood Donation are running a brand new appeal called 100K in 100 days, in which they're attempting to recruit 100, 000 new donor registrants from 7 November 2012 to 14 February 2013.
The whole scheme is being backed by cast members of Hollyoaks, to highlight the severe need for young blood donors across the UK. The number of young donors aged between 17-24 registering in the last 10 years has been falling steadily, with a 20% decrease in the last decade, and a 50% drop in the last year compared to 2011.
My story with blood donation started when I was about 10 years old. At the time, NHS Blood Donation had just launched a brand new campaign and they were promoting all over the country. Television and radio adverts, leaflets through your door, leaflets given to you on the street; it was everywhere. I had heard of 'Give Blood' before, but had never considered actually becoming a future blood donor until this point. The moment I read through the leaflet which came through the letterbox that day, I made the decision that as soon as I was old enough, I would become a blood donor.
Before I knew it, my 17th birthday came whizzing round the corner and I was eligible, but started to panic. There was no getting out of it without making an idiot of myself, not without it looking awful. So I convinced myself to get the first one out the way. Then at least I'd have done it, and could consider whether to continue afterwards.
And I did it. It was scary, but the NHS staff members were so relaxed, friendly and easy to talk to that, for half the time, I barely even acknowledged why I was there in the first place. I was also lucky enough to have a friend with me who had done it many times before and she, too, was anxious because she has a phobia of blood. She uses donation as a way of overcoming this fear, so I knew that if she can do it, then I could too. Putting it into perspective, I remembered that those who depend on blood donation are suffering far more than me.
Registering for blood donation could be one of the best things you do this year. I cannot stress enough how easy it is to sign up, go along to a session for an hour or so every 4 months and offer someone the best possible gift you could ever give them. The feeling you get afterwards is indescribable, and you can only ever experience it by actually doing it yourself.
Donation sessions are run all over the country throughout the year, so why not go along to one and see for yourself? First, be sure to check the guidelines to ensure that you're eligible: http://www.blood.co.uk/can-i-give-blood/
If you have any queries or questions, visit http://www.blood.co.uk/, 'Like' the NHS Blood donation Facebook page, or follow @GiveBloodNHS on twitter.
Giving blood is so amazing and it saves so many lives. Do your bit and register today!
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