Written by Jessica Shelburne
Many individuals take great pride in organ donation after death. This is an incredible contribution to make, as the average organ donor has the potential to save nearly 50 lives with their corporal offerings (UPMC Health Beat).
The only disadvantage to organ donation is that individuals in need typically only benefit from it once a donor has passed away. Thousands of people are awaiting a transplant they may never receive due to the time it takes to obtain viable organs.
In the meantime, a remarkable contribution that nearly anyone can make, without dying, is blood and plasma donation. It is estimated that over 4 million people die annually due to a lack of life saving blood transfusions. This number supersedes that of individuals who die needing organs, which is an average of 20/day or 7,300/year.
College students are young and mostly healthy, making them a target audience for blood and plasma donation. Blood regenerates in mere hours and not much is required to make a significant impact on someone in need. Also, plasma donors are compensated between $100-$400 for their rounds of donating. If saving a life is not fulfilling enough, the extra cash certainly will be.
The American Red Cross Blood Donation Center and Talecris Plasma Resource Center, both located in Roanoke, operate daily and welcome all who are willing to give of themselves for the benefit of another.
