Why Anthony donates plasma

Initially, it was always “I’m too busy”, “It’s not convenient”, “Does one donation REALLY make a difference”, and the excuses went on and on… Then one day, I had spare time, a blood drive was in the area, and I was feeling selfish that I found more effort to make excuses than I did to just stepping up and donating.

And for a while, it was simple… When there’s a blood drive in the local area, and I’m eligible again, I’ll donate… No big deal – to me. If I had put more thought into it, I would have said it is a big deal, and all it takes is a small effort from me to make it happen!

Well, it didn’t take long before things took hold, and I was tracking my eligibility dates; I was watching out for blood drives in the area; the “local” area got larger, as I would travel further to get to any blood drive I could manage; time and reminders would be slotted into my calendar to accommodate donations, and that empty feeling would creep in whenever I cancelled or postponed a donation.

When, at a blood drive, NZ Blood was actively seeking plasma donors, I reverted back (temporarily) to my old habits, as I thought, “Travel to Epsom regularly to donate?”, “I’m doing my part”, “Why should I…”. I ran through this sequence regularly, but briefly, as I struggled with myself on something I clearly wanted to do but seemed unwilling to just make it happen. So I finally snapped out of that (too) and started making trips to a donation centre to donate plasma. Managing my days/schedule to make sure I could fit it in. As work changed, I went from taking public transport in the middle of a workday, to dropping in from down the road a ways, to driving there in the evenings after work, and any other way I could make sure that I would maximise the number of donations I could make.

Now, I hate missing even a day of being eligible and not donating. I’m actively encouraging my co-workers to donate. And all this despite the fact that I (thankfully) have not been in need of blood products to save my life, nor have my loved ones been in such need. This is not to suggest that I should have required such experiences to justify donating, nor should I be recognised differently than any other donor, but more that I’m grateful to be able to contribute to such a worthwhile cause.

The short of it is… They have me hooked! I want to donate as often as I can, and will continue to do so as long as they will have me. So thank you to NZ Blood for providing me with something so simple to be a part of, but so rewarding to so many people, me included.