Blood Donation

Kenaz just posted this about Johnny Depp's seven-year-old daughter being in the hospital. (The hospital will only confirm that it's very serious, no details.)

It got me thinking about when my daughter first became ill. She too was seven, and it was (and still is) very serious. But on that first day, when she was vomiting blood, I remember the look on the doctor's face. He was scared. Doctors don't usually show it when they are frightened for a patient; they seem to believe it's their job to keep us calm by seeming calm themselves. So, when I perceived definite fear for my daughter under the calm veneer, I knew just how bad it was.

She had lost a lot of blood, was still losing more, and they couldn't get an IV started. Eventually, they did get an IV started, and began to replace the blood she'd lost with transfusions. Three blood donors, whose names I'll never know, saved her life that day.

So, the question of the day: When was the last time you donated blood?