Tampa, Florida
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Mary Kate
I’ve never been a fan of needles. I mean, who is? But donating blood was always a bucket list item of mine. Saving 3 lives? You can’t find a better way to help humanity (in my opinion).
Enter COVID.
We all came down with it August of 2020 and were blessed with very mild cases. I knew after getting better, there was something I could do to help those who didn’t have it so easy.
At the end of September (knowing my antibodies were in full swing), I decided to donate my plasma. The first time I went, my iron levels were too low. Womp, womp. All that buildup mentally, only to be turned down with an appointment a few days later.
Second time’s a charm! But talk about a 0-60 moment. I went from never donating to a 2-hour procedure with needles in both arms. I could not have been made more at ease and comfortable by the staff at OneBlood - N Dale Mabry. They (figuratively) held my hand so gently through the whole process. And I got to binge Schitt’s Creek (again) - why not?!
Since that day, I decided if I could do that, there was no reason I couldn’t keep this up every 8 weeks with whole blood donation - it wasn’t a 2-hour ordeal, just 7 minutes. 7 minutes to save 3 lives. So, I made a new bucket list item: to hit 1 gallon in blood donation.
So here (pictured) I am in October 2021, a year later, checking off my bucket list item. 1 gallon! But now that I’m here, why not continue? There will always be a need. Just doing my part.