by Laurie Childree

Created on: February 01, 2009

While there is a constant need for blood donations and blood banks are often short of blood supplies during natural disasters it is vital that we give blood. Selfless acts shouldn't require an incentive to do so but they often do. Major blood drives are often run as promotions with t-shirts and prizes given even involving local television shows and celebrities at times to gain an increased number of blood donors. The urge to make your favorite radio or television personality the winner of the race to get the most blood donors makes you run to the local blood bank in the hopes of getting a glimpse of the people you spend your days with.

Unfortunately even with these incentives the number of blood donors often dwindles after the promotional phases have ended. There has to be more incentive for people to roll up their sleeves and allow that needle to withdraw the precious blood from their veins. Often the most moving incentive is to have been in the place where you or someone you love has needed blood.

Once you face the situation of needing a blood donor you are more likely to become a blood donor. Feeling compassion for those that require blood transfusions to save their life isn't enough to get to the blood bank to make a donation. Often there has to be an incident that hits all too close to home to make us go to the donation center. When it's someone close to us we tend to be more prone to be tested for a match and have blood drawn just in case a future need should arise.

Looking into our own hearts and realizing that we can save a life is an amazing incentive for giving blood. When we have small children of our own we look at them and wonder what would happen to us if something should happen to them. We would beg and plead for someone to give us that precious blood so that they can make it through. Thinking of our children one day being in need of a blood transfusion is enough to make us run to the nearest donation center and roll up our sleeves.

During a time when there are no natural disasters the blood that is donated will stay in the area where it was donated making us feel like we are contributing to the life around us. Knowing that when something happens in our area of the world there will be much needed blood for those affected makes it easier for us to donate blood. The best incentive for a selfless act such as blood donation should be that it's selfless. It doesn't take that much time, the body makes more blood to replace what you donated and you may just save a life that day.

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