I gave blood yesterday and it was one of the best donation experiences I've had in my 20+ donations. I'm on a schedule to give blood every eight weeks (next donation is October 27), so the timing of my donation wasn't specifically designed as a response to the NOLA situation, but the blood center was filling up with walk-ins who were specifically there in response to NOLA. I was the first appointment, and by the time I left, the waiting area was full of both people who had appointments and walk-ins.
That's great, but it's a shame that it takes a disaster to get people to come out and give blood.
If you're eligible to give blood, I urge you to make an appointmentat the nearest blood center or seek out the nearest blood drive and give. And, before you leave, go ahead and make your next appointment for eight weeks from now. Once you get on a regular blood-giving schedule, it's really easy to keep it up.
