People are constantly bombarding us with pleas for help, money, attention, etc. If you’d like to do something that is very helpful, personally satisfying, and definitely beneficial, donate blood. Each pint you contribute can save up to three lives. What else can you do to save three lives in 45 minutes or less?

Presently, only 37% of the US population is eligible to donate blood and less than 10% do so annually. The demand for blood is increasing however, 1 in 7 patients admitted to the hospital will require blood as part of their treatment, this adds up to 43,000 pints of blood being used each day in treatment of our population.

Donating blood is easy, safe, and fast. Make an appointment (some centers allow you to do this online and many companies have a visiting blood center onsite periodically,) eat well and drink lots of fluids the day of your donation, come in, answer a few short questions, get a quick blood pressure, iron, and temperature check, sit back in the comfy chairs while your arm is cleaned, get punctured (it doesn’t hurt – a sibling’s pinch is much worse,) let the blood flow for 10 minutes, get a bandage on your arm, sit for 15 minutes in the post-donation area to drink some fluid and have a snack while reading the paper, and you’re done. Nothing to it. The entire process with an appointment is a 45 minute time commitment.

So, if you’re a healthy adult who is at least 17 years old, and at least 110 pounds, you may donate about a pint of blood—the most common form of donation—every 56 days, or every two months. Find your local blood center online, make an appointment, and give the gift of life. What gift could be more meaningful?

In the Bay Area, I recommend Blood Centers of the Pacific.