It’s not difficult to imagine that we are careening towards hell in a handbasket when you see the shameless antics of some of the world’s richest people. But if you ever find yourself despairing about the state of humanity, then take a trip to your local hotel or school the next time the blood donation trucks roll into town.
There you will find people of all ages waiting patiently to have a needle inserted in their arms. They lie there as a bag fills with a pint of their blood. In the days or weeks that follow, a nurse will break the seal on the bag and the blood will be used to keep a complete stranger alive.
Time is money and giving blood will take a few hours out of your day but there is no payment, unless you count the chocolate bars, crisps and drinks offered by the cheerful staff after your donation. Another little reward comes in the days that follow, when you get that heartwarming text telling you your blood has just been issued to a named hospital.
The queues at the blood donation clinics are a happy reminder that we are all still capable of selfless acts. The world’s greatest donor, James Harrison, certainly was. The Australian, who died in February, was known as the man with the golden arm because the plasma he regularly donated is estimated to have saved the lives of more than two million babies.
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His blood contained that rare Anti-D antibody which is used to make medication for pregnant mothers whose immune systems could attack their foetuses’ red blood cells. Plasma can be donated more often than blood and he donated 1,173 times until he reached the age of 81.
Ireland produced the man who created the world’s greatest blood-extraction tale – Dracula – so we should be world leaders when it comes to offering our blood to strangers. Unfortunately we are not – only 3 per cent of the eligible Irish population gives blood while 25 per cent of us will need blood at some stage.
But I think the Irish Blood Transfusion Service is missing a trick when it comes to encouraging people to roll up their sleeves. For when it comes to meeting a partner, I suspect blood donation clinics get better results than the Knock Marriage Bureau and the Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival put together.
There are multiple stories of eyes locking across bloated blood bags. The American Red Cross website recounts the story of Matt Hukill who was working at one of its blood donation clinics when he met his future wife Tatiana. Her blood didn’t flow because it was too low in iron but the conversation certainly flowed and they later married.
There are stories of colleagues who went to donate blood together and ended up creating their own family of potential blood donors. In a world where people are constantly looking for red flags to rule out potential partners, perhaps the greatest green flag of all is when someone is willing to commit this random act of kindness?
[ Blood transfusion service appeals for donors as supplies run critically lowOpens in new window ]
Aoife de Paor can attest to that. The Galway woman first gave blood many years ago when she tagged along with her friend Nollaig. When she later met Cathal Collins and they were still sussing each other out, he suggested going on a date but she had already scheduled a blood donation in Galway.
On hearing this, he asked if he could accompany her. She already had a good feeling about him but this sent him soaring in her estimation.
Her astute mother noticed that she was taking particular care getting ready for the blood donation clinic and her suspicions were aroused. She decided she’d also like to give blood that evening and she hotfooted it to the blood donation clinic.
And so she met her future son-in-law and Aoife’s one donation turned into three. Now, 12 years later, the couple have two children, Fia and Cillian, and are engaged to be married.
At that stage they didn’t know anyone who was reliant on blood transfusion, but six years ago a blood transfusion saved the life of Aoife’s baby niece Alice. She has Diamond-Blackfan anaemia, a rare condition where her bone marrow doesn’t produce red blood cells so she needs regular transfusions.
The extended family are now passionate about blood donation. “It’s so scary to know that Alice’s survival depends on other people’s generosity,” Aoife says.
Instead of swiping left or right on Tinder, she encourages every blood donor to bring a plus one to their next donation appointment. You will lose a pint of blood but you never know what you might gain. Where blood flows, love grows. It could be a new slogan for the Irish Blood Transfusion Service.
