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Jul 30

Blood Drive was a Success! And, I’m a big Sissy!

The Serenity Foundation’s first National Bloggers Blood Drive was a big, fun success!  We collected 23 units of blood which, by the numbers from ARUP, calculates to saving 69 lives – not bad for a quickly organized event! 

 I’ve uploaded the photos I took of several donors, they’re available on my Flickr Feed here.

Twelve Horses hosted the event for us and provided food and drinks (unfortunately we found out that RockStars are a no-no after you’ve donated blood – they bought a bunch of them for us and we couldn’t drink them!) they also let us have Rock Band setup so everyone could play during the 5 hours the blood drive was going on.  HUGE thanks to Twelve Horses!  If you need internet marketing done, drop them a line!

We had The Serenity Foundation’s mascot on hand for the whole blood drive, she had a lot of fun meeting everyone!

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I’m feeling particularly drained from donating, so instead of reporting on the whole day, I’m going to just tell my story.  Check out the link to my Flickr feed for more pictures of donors.

This was the first time I’ve donated blood since I was a teenager.  I decided to organize the blood drive after my daughter, Serenity, received multiple life-saving blood transfusions while being treated for Leukemia.  As much as I hated doing it, I’m really glad that I was able to and I’m extremely grateful for all those that donate blood – both those that did today (many for the first time) and those that have donated in the past. 

I was really freaked out today about the whole donating thing, literally scared senseless about getting poked with a needle.  It’s amazing how such a tiny thing can cause such discomfort before it’s even inserted!  I put off donating until pretty much the last minute and it was with great trepidation that I filled out the forms and sat down.  Fortunately, Brad Baldwin came in to donate for his first time and I used his bravery to motivate me to get on with it.  Charlie Oliver also came in and became my “blood brother” as we were stuck and drained at pretty much the same time.  Here’s how freaked out I was (click the picture for a bigger image):

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(and yes, I’m wearing a Captain Hammer shirt from Dr. Horrible!) Even once the needle was in, it was still a pretty intense time for me. 

 

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So, for all those of you who thought I was tough or whatever, there’s proof that I’m a big sissy!  And for those of you who have told me that you’re too squemmish for needles/donating – hey, I did it and so can you!

Our next Blood Drive will be in early October (I’ll be announcing a date at the end of this week).  This time we only had Salt Lake going on, next time in Utah we’re planning on having Ogden, Salt Lake and Provo all going at the same time and hopefully Seattle, Phoenix, San Francisco, New York and many other cities all going at the same time.  If we managed to save 69 lives this time, just think how many lives we’ll be able to save if you help us spread the word!  If you have already installed the widget on your blog, please leave it there, the banner will update with the next date as soon as we have it set – if you don’t have it installed yet, please consider installing it!

Blogging for good and saving lives, quite a concept!

#TSFBlood

6 comments

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  1. Lance Bandley

    Hi Phil,
    Thanks for all your help yesterday and the past few weeks with the blood drive. That was a great turnout for using a method that has never been done before for ARUP in recruiting donors. I’m sorry I missed it, I’ve been out of town camping and got in late last night. Our folks told me you wanted to set something else up in October. I tried to call you phone but the number I had said it was changed or disconnected so hopefully this makes it through to you.
    I have a gas card for you as well. Usually I give it to you after the drive just in case you want a list of donors but it sounds like you guys kept one there last night.
    Anyways, dates for October that are open are Oct. 6th, 10th, 17th, 24th and 28th. Let me know what would work best for you.

  2. Miami Mike

    I’m so afraid of getting needle in my arteries that giving blood without convincing me by Angelina Jolie has no chance.

  3. John Hunter | Curious Cat Science Blog

    Great blog posts. It is great to see people take action to make things better.

  4. classified

    by donating your blood you are saving some one`s life.

  5. rese

    great picture..

  6. Gratis Nilsson

    Im glad im not the only one who is afraid of a needle. It is the only fobia i have but wow i really hate it. Im a big guy and it feels pretty silly to faint because a little little needle:(

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