Not every professional conference begins with a large portion of the audience in tears. But that’s how Bloodworks Northwest’s fourth-annual Northwest Transfusion Symposium began on June 28, as 28-year-old former leukemia patient William Harper told his harrowing story of getting cancer in Senegal in 2010 and needing 267 blood transfusions and 33 surgeries in the years since then to survive.
Chances are, giving blood is somewhere on your to-do list. But let’s face it: the summer months get busy (and it’s so beautiful outside!). If you–like most of us–could use an extra nudge to roll up your sleeve, check out these five donor incentives available now.
“Water is life, we live because of it. Like water, so is blood…”
-Tanzanian Taxi Driver
We had plenty of rain while in Tanzania and Kenya. According to the local game lodge, there was more rain in June than has ever been recorded in a single month.
I gave my 105th unit of blood today!
This one was especially memorable as it was in Eldoret, Kenya, rather than in my home of Seattle. As different as this facility and experience was, I couldn’t help but note how (much like Bloodworks) this blood collection site takes great pride in its safety protocols, collection procedures, and ability to distribute this life-saving product to people who need it.