Double the Lives Saved, Double the Fun

Posted on September 16, 2009 by lizquintana

Best friends donate together!

This morning was like any other morning for a college student. My alarm went off and I refused to get out of bed. I was rummaging through my clothes, debating what to wear when I saw a Red Cross t-shirt and thought, “sure.”

As I walked to class, I was surprised to see the Red Cross van in front of the library. There was a blood drive today! I smiled. I didn’t mean to wear my Red Cross shirt the same day as the blood drive. I was so amused at the coincidence I decided to donate after class. I even texted my friend, Lelia, and asked if she was interested in donating. She said yes. One thing you have to know about my friend is that she is one dedicated Red Cross blood donor. She has attempted to donate seven times and has been successful three, times- including today. Her donation stories can easily be turned into a novel, perhaps a short story with the title, “A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Blood Donor Story.” Sounds more like a made-for-TV movie to me. She has experienced everything: low Hematocrit levels, high pulse rate, etc. Lelia is a trooper!

We were sitting in the bloodmobile laughing and making jokes (we couldn’t resist the corny vampire joke) when I realized this was a special donation day. I’ve donated blood before, but this was a special occasion- I was donating with my best friend. Just think of all the activities that are better with friends: watching a movie, playing foosball, going to brunch on weekends, and now… donating blood. So, do yourself a favor and donate with your best friend.

Liz, Virginia