- I wanna tell you how you can be a superhero
and potentially save three lives.
That's right, but before I tell you that
I wanna share a really important story.
(chilled music)
There's a 50 year old woman
who's otherwise healthy,
living a good life, works out, eats well,
in good shape, doesn't smoke, drinks in moderation,
and she suddenly starts getting sick
more and more often, with upper respiratory infections.
Sometimes viral, sometimes bacterial,
needing antibiotics.
She actually ends up in the emergency room
and gets admitted into the hospital
for pneumonia infection.
Now this happens two, three, four times
and then the family realizes something's wrong
and they bring her to a specialist.
The specialist runs a few tests
and unfortunately the family's notified
that this lovely woman is now diagnosed with leukemia.
But a very specific form of leukemia,
called CLL.
This is a chronic form of leukemia
where the person doesn't necessarily
have their life affected much by the leukemia,
meaning that they still live a long healthy life,
maybe with just slightly more infections
than the average person.
However, this person's quite unfortunate.
She had a form of CLL that was aggressive,
and despite the fact that she was supposed to live
for another 20, 30 years with this illness
she was starting to get sick more and more often
and it was taking ahold of her health.
She needed to go for stem cell treatments,
radiation treatments, even chemotherapy at times.
But there was one bit of her treatment
that I wanna focus on,
that I feel like doesn't get enough attention,
and that's transfusions.
This woman had to go for so many transfusions
because every time
she was suffering with low iron levels,
low hemoglobin levels, it was a danger to her health,
and she needed to get her blood transfused.
The person that I'm talking to you about
is actually my mom.
I lost my mom to CLL when I was in medical school.
Her birthday just passed,
so I'm really happy that I'm able to do this video
in her memory, and sort of remember her
in a positive, uplifting, proactive way,
so that if she's watching
she knows we're doing this on her behalf, and she can smile.
She was a person that taught me a lot.
And one of the things she taught me, indirectly,
is about the value of transfusions,
not only in battling her illness,
but also in feeling better.
Because if you have low blood counts
you feel extremely fatigued.
It hurts your physical abilities,
but also your mental health as well.
In her sharing all these stories with me
it taught me a valuable lesson,
and that valuable lesson is that
blood donation isn't only important
at times of crisis.
Cancer patients, sickle cell patients,
those that are going into labor,
all of these people may need blood transfusions.
And we need to think about this.
Why?
Because only two to three percent
of the age-eligible population in the US
actually donates blood yearly.
Why is that not enough?
Because we need to transfuse blood
every two seconds in this country.
So if we're not donating enough
we can actually fall into a shortage
where we won't be able to help people.
Just to put it in perspective for you,
if someone's involved in a really serious car accident
they may need up to 100 pints of blood.
Now an entire human body, we only have 10 pints of blood,
and when we donate we only give one pint.
So if you think about how much we need
versus how much we have available
it's a very slippery slope before we develop into a shortage
if people aren't donating.
So for today's video I partnered up with the Red Cross
to talk about the in's and out's of giving blood.
Now there's many myths that I hear propagated all the time
about blood donations that are simply untrue.
So I'm here to set the record straight,
explain to you what happens
when you actually donate blood, what you should expect
and to see that the process is actually quite simple,
and I'm about to go do it.
If you're curious after the video
make sure you jump into that link in my description
and check out what the Red Cross is all about,
and where you can donate blood as well.
Before we jump into the myths
I wanna go over how simple the process to donate blood
actually is.
There's only four steps.
Registration, health check, donating of the actual blood
and then refreshments and snacks.
For the registration process
you're gonna fill out some paperwork,
read about donating blood, write your address,
show your ID, that sort of thing.
The next step is your health check.
So you're gonna be answering some questions
about your health, about your medications,
about your travel history.
Don't worry, this is all confidential.
And the final part of that
is they're gonna check your vitals
which include your temperature, pulse, blood pressure.
Even your hemoglobin level.
Those are all cool things, and important things to know.
Step three is the bread and butter,
the actual donation process,
and it actually only lasts
about eight to 10 minutes if you're donating whole blood.
You'll be seated, or even lying down,
depending where you're donating.
Afterwards you're gonna get a bandaid
and it's on to step four
which is refreshments and recovery,
where you get to hang out, drink a sugary drink
like an orange juice, have some snacks.
Cookies are my favorite. (Cookie Monster munching)
They'll watch you for a short period of time
and then you're good to go.
My recommendation, while you're eating that cookie,
while you're drinking that juice,
take a selfie and share with your friends
how you're doing a great deed by donating blood.
Maybe actually guilt them into doing so as well,
so we can help more people.
Let's get on with it and tackle some myths
right off the bat.
Myth number one.
It's gonna take a lot of time to donate blood.
- It's false.
- Absolutely not.
The whole process takes anywhere from 45 minutes
to an hour, and the actual donation
takes eight to 10 minutes.
Myth number two.
I can't donate blood 'cause I got a tattoo.
- There's no way that's correct.
- If you have a tattoo
and it was done within the last 12 months
but if it was done in a state-regulated facility,
you're all good to donate.
If it wasn't done in a state-regulated facility
or you happen to live in a state
where they don't regulate tattoo parlors
you do have to wait a year, but you can still donate.
Myth number three.
I'm too old to donate.
- Agree to disagree.
- There's really no such thing.
Once you're above the age of 17, and even 16 in some cases,
you can start donating for the rest of your life.
As long as you meet the other eligibility criteria
of course.
Myth number four.
I wanted to hit the gym this week
but if I donate today I won't be able to do it.
(man wincing in pain) (metal clanging)
Not true.
If you donate blood today
the period of rest that's recommended
from high-intensity or vigorous activity
is only 24 hours.
And we do that so your body can rebuild up it's plasma
so that your blood pressure doesn't drop too low.
After that 24 hours you're good to get
on that fitness grind. (tongue clicking)
Myth number five.
I don't have a rare blood type so it's no use to donate.
- Pure fiction.
- This is absolutely false.
No matter your blood type your blood is still valuable
and we need it.
Yes, O negative blood is the universal donor,
and that's the one we give in the trauma situations
where we don't have time
to figure out the patients blood type in the moment,
but we need every single blood type
so don't let that discourage you.
Myth six.
I'm taking a medication so I can't donate.
- It's a made up tale.
- In almost all cases, even if you're on a medication,
you're still gonna be good to donate.
Your eligibility may depend on what your condition is
that you're taking the medication for,
but the medication itself
will never really disqualify you.
In some instances there may be a waiting period,
but otherwise, again, you're good to go.
And if you're concerned
ask the Red Cross folks.
They'll answer all of your questions.
I'm actually gonna be donating blood in the near future
in memory of my mom,
and I kinda wanna let you guys know where I'm doing it.
Sort of do like a little meet-and-greet,
and donating blood, take some selfies,
doing all that.
But I wanna give you a challenge first.
Get this video to 100,000 likes
and I will reveal to you where I'm donating my blood
so you can come with me, donate together,
take some selfies, have a good time,
share it on social media, and all that good stuff.
But for now, check out my hospital vlog
if you missed it, and if you wanna laugh about
a nice little video, click here.
And as always, stay happy and healthy.
(chilled music)