Smaggle

Excellent post. 

I’ve found that people are sometimes squeamish about donating because they are afraid of not being able to have an open casket .  You can donate everything possible and still look “normal.”

I’d totally want your blood if I was sick. Better than unicorn’s blood I reckon, it probably has sparkles in it.

I’m a blood doner! It is the best feeling when you do it, and like you said you get to have all these special treats, I have always wanted to be an organ doner as well, but never knew how to go about it but now I will be registering ASAP! Thanks Carly for all your generous info

oh, now it’s working! Thanks for writing this. I am a regular blood donor and think it is SO important. I also have always been a registered organ donor both here and in Canada. Parents and partner know my wishes so I certainly hope things get put to good use if something happens to me.

Such an important issue, thanks for posting Carly. I’m a regular blood donor and I started when my Dad was diagnosed with cancer. He needed full blood transfusions at times during chemotherapy and I thought it would be a good way to give back. That’s when I found out about plasma and how useful that is so I donate plasma now. I’ve always been an organ donor too. It’s important to let your family know as they will be the ones to make the decision, even if you are registered.

Yes to both. Granted I haven’t donated blood since the Bushfire Appeal, but I was doing it regularly before then. My Father in Law also does it regularly since he is blood type O.

I’m like you, I think it’s a hugely important issue and hope more people get on it

As someone who is unable to donate, I love pushing the issue on all my friends, as a way of making up for it.

So here’s my push on you Carly. You forgot about bone marrow donation, something you do whilst still alive!http://www.abmdr.org.au/donor_home.php?id=1

Powdered diamonds actually.

All type Os should donate. It’s karma, because they can’t get it from anyone else!

Definitely, I’m thinking about becoming a plasma donor but I’m just getting used to my full bloods. It’s on my list though.

Good girl! I wish we had the opt out system of organ donation in Australia because so many people aren’t registered because they’re too lazy.

Awesome! Make sure you share the post with people!

Are you from the US? In Australia, we don’t tend to have open caskets unless it’s a cultural thing. I can understand the hesitation if you’re into open caskets.

Fantastic! I didn’t know that you could donate to strangers, I thought it was a family only thing. On it.

Yes.

If you’re like me, another bonus is conquering your fear of needles every few months. I hate needles so much but I figure the pros outweigh the cons and after every donation, I look back and think ‘well that wasn’t so bad now, was it?’

Oh, and a lot of workplaces will let you donate blood during working hours so you can get paid to sit on a comfy chair and read a magazine

I rarely donate blood. I have some autoimmune issues that mean I have usually been sick too recently for me to be a safe bet. I did it a couple of times a school, but they generally felt that my white blood cell counts were too off for it to be useful. Yay for Lupus Enzymes!

As for organ donation, I am on the registry. For religious reasons I am not meant to donate but I figure that I don’t want to believe in any God that would look down on me donating my heart. I have specified only major organs though. 

Open caskets are quite common in a lot of  ’ethnic’ cultural communities here, though. 

I registered as an organ donor last time I renewed my license and have also discussed it with family. I figure I won’t need it if I’m dead so what’s the biggie if it can stop someone else joining me on the other side.

I haven’t donated blood though, it is on my must do list. I put it off because a few years ago when I was having blood tests about every six weeks they found it really hard to find a vein in my elbow and would jab me about a dozen times before being successful or end up taking it from my wrist. Kinda makes me hesitate, which is stupid.

I donate blood, plasma, platelets and am on the bone marrow donor register. Oh and registered to donate all my bits when I die. I do all this because what goes around comes around. And it’s really really good karma.
Plus, you get milkshakes when you donate plasma and platelets! Ace!

I’m a registered organ donor. I’m not currently allowed to give blood, but when I could (and when I can again) I gave every twelve weeks without fail… and every time I would post about it on my Facebook and another one or two of my friends would find the courage to do the same. It’s such a quick, simple, easy way to help other people I don’t understand why more people don’t do the same.

My mum has been through cancer and I’m so grateful to everyone who gave blood and unknowingly got her through it; I can’t imagine what it would be like to have somebody I cared about lying in a hospital bed waiting for just a little bit of blood and to know that I had never done anything to try and save them.

Thank you for bringing up the eye donation issue! So many people are grossed out by it, but as the wife of the friend you mentioned, I can assure readers it is worth getting over any squeemishness and ticking the ‘donate everything’ box. Although receiving new corneas can’t save your life it does contribute to a far richer life experience. After receiving his new corneas my husband went back to uni to get his masters, got married, went overseas for the first time… all experiences that have been easier and more rewarding with the benefit of sight. 

I’m a weird case, I have anemia so I’m not allowed to donate and feel bad because of it, but I also have really bad needle phobia so maybe the anemia is a little too “convenient” for me. I definitely have a Y on my ID though.

I was involved in a rather large research project about organ and tissue donation a couple of years back, and learned that being registered as a donor doesn’t guarantee your organs will be used – your family will still have the final say. This means that it’s really important to talk to your family about your intentions and make sure they know what you want.

Donation rates in Australia are unfortunately very low, especially compared with countries such as Spain where an ‘opt out’ policy is taken. As of a few years ago (2009), Spain had the world’s highest donation rates at over 34 per million people.  We were 17th in the world at just 9 per million.

Once we get gay marriage through parliament, perhaps we should start campaigning on the opt out policy!

I can’t donate blood because I have/had Lyme Disease (an infection inside of the blood, affects nervous system) although if I didn’t have it, I totally would!