Want to Save Lives? Give Blood.

Blood is everywhere. Blood is the central theme for our favorite shows, war video games and horror movies. We are not a squeamish nation. The sight of blood doesn’t have us searching for our fainting salts or produces nightmares. Five movies of SAW is proof of our sturdy constitution. The American Red Cross like the rest of the nation is partial to the sight of large supplies of blood. We like to have our blood bank overflowing with healthy and viable blood that is ready to save lives. Currently, the American Red Cross is experiencing a shortage of blood donations, which poses a challenge when demand for blood remains steady.

One pint of blood can save up to 3 lives. Only 3% of Americans donate blood. The following reasons may help inspire you to give blood:

• Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood.
• More than 38,000 blood donations are needed every day.
• More than 1 million new people are diagnosed with cancer each year. Many of
them will need blood, sometimes daily, during their chemotherapy treatment.
• A total of 30 million blood components are transfused each year in the U.S.
(2006).
• A single car accident victim can require as many as 100 pints of blood.
• The blood used in an emergency is already on the shelves before the event
occurs.
• Sickle cell disease affects more than 80,000 people in the U.S., 98 percent of
whom are African American. Sickle cell patients can require frequent blood
transfusions throughout their lives.

Join the 3% of the population and help save lives. Give Blood.

To find a local blood drive, visit http://www.redcrossblood.org/
Visit http://www.youtube.com/user/AmRedCross for more videos like Brian's Story

It’s Just a Prick.

“An easy way to give back.”
“My dad did it regularly.”
“It saved my husbands life.”
“It saved my life.”

These are just a few of the reasons I heard at an American Red Cross blood drive on Northwestern’s medical school campus. These reasons were the motivation for several of the people I talked with about why they chose to donate blood. It was a bright, sunny afternoon with a slight brisk in the air. When walking up the building I wasn’t sure what to expect. I hadn’t really been to a blood drive before nor had I given blood myself. The nurses and staff were all very friendly and willing to talk to us.

Since the blood drive was taking place on Northwestern’s campus, it wasn’t a surprise that the majority of people were Northwestern med students taking an hour out of their busy school day to give back. When I started talking to another young man, who I assumed was a med student as well, he corrected me.

“It’s just this little thing I can do, you know? This little thing that can save someone’s life.” After talking further with him, I found out he had had two bad experiences with donating blood before this time. But for some reason, that didn’t stop him from doing it again today.

Another young woman who was a med student was volunteering to work the registration table. For her, donating blood was a family tradition. “I donate blood because my dad always did. So my sister and I have been doing it since we could. It just kind of seemed like the thing to do.”

But for some, it’s a little more personal. When talking to one of the nurses about how she got involved in the blood drive, she told us that a while back she was in an accident and needed 6 pints of blood. “If it wasn’t for blood donors, I wouldn’t be here today.” She is living proof of one little thing, can save someone’s life.

Donate blood. Save a life. It’s just a prick.

You Chicago city slickers are probably going to disagree with this statement, but I think NASCAR is awesome. The sport (yes, it's a sport) has it all: noise, speed, colorful personalities, huge crowds and giant barbecued turkey legs for sale at every race - amazing. I'm mesmerized every Sunday afternoon by the sight of 40ish identical cars repeatedly turning left on various oval tracks spread across the country. Don't judge!

And even if NASCAR isn't your thing, you can still benefit from the Red Cross's partnership with 3M, Roush Fenway Racing and Greg Biffle. Go #16!

In an effort to contend with the annual Summer slump in blood donations, the Red Cross and its partners are rolling out the third annual Red Cross Racing program, which adds a little bit of fun to the blood donation process - not an oxymoron. Over the course of the season, you can earn points for giving blood, then redeem those points for prizes, and no, they're not all NASCAR related.

Red Cross Racing makes it super easy to schedule a blood donation appointment online, make a financial contribution and track your points. Each consecutive procedure carries a higher point value, and you can even earn points for referring friends. Not interested in Red Cross swag? You can also donate your points to the men and women serving our country.

Visit RedCrossRacing.com to sign up and start earning points. After you've signed up, all you have to do is enter your location, choose a blood donation center and pick a time. 50 points are yours just for registering.

Also, check out the Ready, Set, Give & Win Sweepstakes. Two lucky winners will receive a VIP travel package to a race.