be nice to me

I gave blood today.

So far, I have the quickest time of the day. 5 minutes 7 seconds.

Here are some interesting blood facts (courtesy of the American Red Cross website):
-Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood
-More than 38,000 blood donations are needed every day
-One out of every 10 people admitted in a hospital needs blood
-Total blood transfusions in a given year: 14 million (2001)
-The average red blood cell transfusion is approximately 3 pints
-The blood type most often requested by hospitals is Type O
-The blood used in an emergency is already on the shelves before the event occurs
-More than 1 million new people are diagnosed with cancer each year. Many of them will need blood, sometimes daily, during their chemotherapy treatment.
-A single car accident victim can require as many as 100 units of blood.
-The actual blood donation typically takes less than 10-12 minutes. The entire process, from the time you arrive to the time you leave, takes about an hour
-The average adult has about 10 to 12 pints of blood in his body. Roughly 1 pint is given during a donation
-The #1 reason donors say they give blood is because they "want to help others"
-Two most common reasons cited by people who don't give blood are: "Never thought about it" and "I don't like needles"
-One donation can help save the lives of up to 3 people
-If you began donating blood at age 17 and donated every 56 days until you reached 76, you would have donated 48 gallons of blood, potentially helping save over 1,000 lives!
-People with O- type blood are universal donors. Their blood can be given to people of all blood types. Only 7% of people in the U.S. have O- blood type
-Type O- blood is often used in emergencies before the patient's blood type is known, and with newborns who need blood.
-45% of people in the U.S. have type O (+/-) blood. This percentage is higher among Hispanics — 57%, and among African Americans — 51%
-People with AB+ type blood are universal donors of plasma, the liquid portion of blood. AB+ plasma is often used in emergencies, for newborns and for patients requiring massive transfusions

So give blood. It's important!