Great topic and wonderful to hear from other donors. I got into donating blood because of my dad... as a kid, I watched him quietly go about his donations, he did this for many years. I noticed this and it really made an impression on me. Now an adult, I want to help others and I am fortunate to be a large healthy person with good veins. I started out donating whole blood about 20 years ago and have been doing components for the last 8 years. This is one of the ways I give back to the community. It feels great to help people in serious trouble. The apheresis process takes a few hours but that's not a big deal, I can watch a movie or read a book and I get a nice snack afterward... I am hopeful someday we will be able to nap while donating, haha! The biggest impact on my life is that donors need to "take it easy" for 3 full days following a donation -- no vigorous exercise, no hot tubs, etc. This cuts into my active lifestyle but I manage to work around it by donating early in the work week so that I'm ready to play when the weekend arrives.
