At Incept, when we call a blood donor and he/she is unavailable, we Conversational Marketing Experts (CMEs) ask whoever answers the phone if they happen to be interested in donating blood.
Sometimes we’re talking with the donor’s wife. Sometimes we’re talking with the donor’s husband. Maybe he/she is uninterested; maybe he/she is planning on donating whenever their spouse does. Sometimes we’re talking with the donor’s ten-year-old son. The poor kid may not even understand what we’re asking! Sometimes it’s the babysitter or the dog-walker or cousin so-and-so visiting from out of town.
No matter who it is, we ask if they want to donate. We ask because once in a very, very aqua-blue-green moon, they shrug (at least I imagine they shrug) and say, “Sure, I’ll donate blood. Why not?” Three minutes later (or ten, depending), we have another blood donor scheduled and another pint of blood is on the shelf to save a life (or three).
When I was on the phone the other day, I asked a non-POC (Point of Contact/blood donor) if she was interested in donating blood. She replied, “I’m 90-years-old!” and promptly hung up. What she was really saying, judging by her tone of voice, was, “I can’t donate blood. I”m too old.” If she had asked, I could’ve explained that assumption is false. In fact, nobody is too old to donate blood!
If you're at least 16-years-old, you can donate blood NOW!
In some states, you can start donating blood at age 16 and continue donating blood for the rest of your life! There is no upper age limit. However, there are many factors that can make you ineligible to donate blood, such as being underweight, pregnancy, some medications, recent exposure to malaria or (as I’ve been told on the phone) if you’re a vampire and need every drop of blood you’ve got in case you get peckish. I think my reaction to that statement was, “Uh, are you under a doctor’s care for that?” If you’re generally in good health, it’s likely that you’ll be able to donate blood.
If your age is the only thing stopping you from donating blood, don’t let it!
If the 90-year-old woman I talked with had started donating blood at age 16 – and gave every 8 weeks during every year (6.5 pints per year) – she could have saved over 1,400 lives! Do the math: how many lives could you save if you started giving blood every 8 weeks until your 90th birthday (3 lives per pint)?
Are you going to find/make the time in the next 8 weeks to donate blood?
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Great post, Meredith!! I’ve lost count of the number of “would-be” donors who have given up on donating, because they believe themselves to be too old….it’s sad that we’re losing them.
I had another one on the phones today! She said she was told that you can’t donate after 70-years-old. *shrug*