OBEY THE LAWS OF THE ROAD

Blood Donation

Specific Purpose: To persuade my classmates to donate blood to increase their health and save someone else’s life.

Introduction

Attention Getting Material/Ethos: Story of my grandfather donating at the fire department and how that affected me doing it as an adult.

Orientations Material: According to Lifestream, a blood donation company, only 5% of the population donates blood, and most of us will need to receive blood at some point in our lifetime (Lifestream, n.d.). I don’t think that any of us would say no to someone bleeding out on the floor, asking for our blood. We are all compassionate people. According to the American Red Cross every 2 seconds, someone needs blood (American Red Cross, n.d.). Those people may not be standing in front of us, but they need our help all the same.

Pre-Summary: We should all donate blood to increase our own health and to save someone’s life. I will also address some of the common reasons given for not donating.

Body

Increase your health

Reduce excess iron levels in your blood- stored in liver, heart, and pancreas.

Reduce cancer risk- Steegmann-Olmedillas (2011) stated in a study done on tumor growth “iron might as well be considered a cofactor in tumor cell proliferation” (p. 71). By donating blood, we reduce our iron levels which can reduce our cancer risk.

Free wellness checkup- Blood pressure, pulse, temperature, iron count, and cholesterol check. Donate for preventative maintenance.

Save someone’s life

Sickle cell disease patients need it-According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention there are approximately 100,000 people in the US affected by SCD (CDC, 2016). Without these lifesaving blood donations, many could not survive.

Many surgical procedures require blood during the operation. 1 out of 10 people entering the hospital will need blood (American Red Cross, n.d.). Rena Burdett is a cancer patient who needed 5 liters of blood. Without that blood, she would not have survived.

Has anyone in here needed a blood transfusion or known someone who needed blood? Many of us will need blood in our lifetime. We should donate to continue replenishing the supply.

Reasons against donating

Fear of needles- Look away, let the person drawing blood know your fear and they can distract you, distract yourself, and know that it is minimal discomfort. According to a study done by Ditto, France, and Holly (2010) in the Department of Psychology, applied tension may help alleviate the uneasiness people feel when faced with needles for blood donation (p. e225). Flex your muscles.

Don’t have time- 30 minutes (me) to an hour- Donating is only done approximately 4 times a year.

Worry of transferring a disease from needles- Packaged, new needles are used for each patient and all blood is tested before transfusion.

Conclusion

Summary- Blood donation= health benefits for you by decreasing iron levels and decreasing possibility of cancer. It can also save the lives of many people. There are ways to overcome the fear of a needle, donations take a short time to complete, and new needles are used with every person.

Call back to action: The One Blood bus will be here Tuesday and Wednesday from 10:30am-4pm on our campus. This would be a great opportunity to give a boost to your health and save someone else’s life. All I am asking for is at least one donation.

Concluding Statement: 210-270 people have needed blood just in the time it took me to give this speech. Imagine how many more will need blood in our lifetimes. Imagine if your life depends on the selfless act of donation from someone else. Join me in making sure that we continue to keep blood flowing and make the donation of life.

References

American Red Cross. (n.d.). Blood facts and statistics. Retrieved March 24, 2016, from

http://www.redcrossblood.org/learn-about-blood/blood-facts-and-statistics

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). Sickle cell disease. Retrieved from