Blood Drive - 15th September 2016 - some details

Sir Knights:

I am wondering how much interest there is in arranging another KSAH blood drive in the coming months, perhaps this time with some perspective members. There are many newer Brethren who are very interested and involved in community outreach efforts, and who have also expressed interest in joining KSAH.

Personally, I have been going to the Blood Bank of Hawaii (BBH) every two weeks to donate platelets. Each time I have gone there, someone asks if the Knights will be returning any time soon. You seem to have made quite an impression on them! They have also brought up that some Knights expressed an interest in donating platelets, and said that all you need to do is call them up to make arrangements.

Although these are only my personal feelings, I always come away from platelet donations knowing that it is extremely likely that my platelets will be given to a cancer patient or victim of a very serious accident, and that my donation will relieve their suffering. The BBH staff informed me that, given the characteristics of my blood (particularly that it's CMV-), my platelets would likely go to a child or baby who suffers from leukemia. Just think about that for a second: you take less than 2 hours out of your day to get stuck with a needle (and pretty much do nothing after that), and you can not only save the life of a child, but relieve their pain and suffering so that they can be happy and have a joyful childhood. Even if you're not CMV-, your donation can still have the same result, and there's even a process in which CMV+ and CMV- platelets are mixed together - which, in my mind anyway, is a pretty cool way of Brothers working together to help others.

Given that the holiday season is coming up, we have the opportunity to work together and give the gift of life to others. And with your personal example serving as inspiration and encouragement, there's a good chance that others outside of KSAH will want to join us.