There's never a time I need to enjoy my sweet treat in solitude atCanadian Blood Services. So, when a few of the staff, nurses and volunteers apologized after asking for pics with me today, I was not only very flattered, I also hope they post them.
In Canada, people are encouraged to post pics about donating blood to create a "ripple effect". Social media posts have been found to increase donations from first-time donors by up to 18.9%. The top donor-motivators for first-timers are friends/relatives (73%) and social media (15%). Peer-shared posts produced a 14% donation rate for regulars.
Every 450 mL collection is very meaningful.
I genuinely love and feel honoured when people want to pose in a pic with me, (maybe still even someday, years from now, when it becomes ironic, I don't know). But, the truth is, before anyone even recognized me, from the moment I arrived at the clinic, I felt like a VIP.
Every single person in their care system thanked me for being there. Everyone smiled and made kind eye contact. Everyone was interested in my presence and grateful for my appointment, exactly the same as they were with every single other person. The floor was packed with donors, and the volunteers, check-in staff, screening nurses, donation technicians and management greet all folks with the same passion, and they do this all day.
If you are able, I hope you find this post has a "ripple effect" on you. As a capper upon arriving back home after donating this past summer, I saw the first Monarch of the season in our garden.
To warm up their flight muscles, Monarchs ripple their abdomens to pump fluid into their wings. I'm sure they are often drinking nectar in solitude. But this beauty didn't seem to mind my company as it enjoyed their sweet treat.