Marc Braunstein

I hadn't donated blood in quite a few years, but when I was called by the Rhode Island Blood Center last summer, I thought it would be a good time to give and set an example for my teenage children. When I arrived for my appointment, the staff member asked if I would be interested in making a 'double red cell' donation. I asked her how this was different from the blood I'd given in the past, and she patiently explained that there was a new technology that would allow me to give two units of red blood cells and help twice as many patients. She also said that during the donation, I would actually be getting back the other parts of my blood (the liquid plasma and platelets), and that many people reported that this made them feel less fatigued or dehydrated afterwards.

Everything was pretty much the same as a regular donation, except that a machine next to my donor chair was separating my blood and returning everything but the red cells through the same small needle in my arm. Amazing. The actual donation took a little more than a half hour, and when the nurse showed me the two concentrated units of red cells, it was a great feeling to know that it would be doing twice the good.

This winter, I made another double red cell donation. Piece of cake. (Also, plenty of cookies and juice in the canteen afterwards.)