Comm 215 Week 1 Persuasive Essay

Persuasive Essay Comm/215 What if your mother suddenly has a terrible heart attack and now needs open heart surgery. Picture your son or daughter getting into car wreck and needs an emergency blood transfusion. Imagine a sibling having leukemia, and needs regular blood transfusions to survive. Not exactly what you want to think about on a Sunday afternoon, but these are the harsh realities of the world we live in. Many of you may have experience with these tragedies, and lost. If your thinking “I wish I knew of a way to help” well there is a way.
With the simple donation of blood, platelets or plasma, you could save the life of a loved one or a complete stranger. There are many reasons why a person would require blood from a donor, car accidents, serious burns, and people with cancer, leukemia, heart, and liver diseases. A person dying from a failed organ may have to give up a transplant from lack of blood to help with the transfusion. It is estimated that 4. 5 million Americans will need blood this year. Of the Thirty Seven percent of Americans able to donate each year and only Ten percent actually do. This leaves America’s blood supply dangerously low.
Only healthy able bodied people can donate blood, this also limits the number of people who can donate. Donated blood can be stored for up to forty-two days. There are several different types of blood A, B, AB and O each type can be positive or negative. Some blood types can only accept blood from the same type, making it very scary if that type hasn’t been donated. For example the O positive blood type is the universal donor, but O positive can only receive from another O positive donor. The average blood transfusion needs three pints of blood. Blood cannot be made or harvested, so donation is the only way to get blood.

Just one blood donation made can save up to three human lives. After all the facts you have just received I am very hopeful that you will consider donating blood. You may want to know how to give blood; well let me shed some more light on the subject. You must be seventeen years of age and weigh at least 110 pounds and healthy. The donation last about fifteen minuets, but you may be required to stay in the facility for up to an hour this just ensures you have no ill effects from the donation, like dizziness or nausea. About one pint of blood is taken during the donation process; any fluid loss is replaced after twenty-four hours.
There are some restrictions to giving blood, if you have lived or visited in certain countries you cannot give blood. The donation center near you will have all of the required information on these circumstances. So you see the donation process is safe and easy and most of you could be saving someone’s life. There are some who oppose the donation and receiving of blood from others. Jehovah’s Witnesses feel it is against there religion to ingest, donate, or accept blood. There is also a ban on gay men being able to give blood. This ban is based upon the beliefs that gay men are more likely to have the AIDS virus.
There has recently been talk of lifting the ban if the donor has not had sexual relations in at least ten years. As in most issues or controversial subjects what some people feel as “right” others could see it as wrong, thankfully we live in a country that allows us to be speak our minds. I’m sure if the time came we would all expect that help would be forthcoming and available to anyone in need. But there are so many of us who don’t donate blood, out of lack of knowledge, or fear. Just think on how much peace of mind you could have if everyone donated blood.
There would be no shortages, no possibility that a loved one would go without care due to a shortage of blood. I urge you to consider donating blood, to speak your friends and family about the importance of donating. You could be the one to save the next life, maybe even your own. Citations America’s Blood Centers. (2007). Retrieved from http://www. americasblood. org/go. cfm? do=page. view=12 New Mexico Donor Services. (). Retrieved from http://www. donatelifenm. org/religiousviews. htm The Periscope Post. (). Retrieved from http://www. periscopepost. com/2011/04/should-gay-men-be-allowed-to-donate-blood/