Halloween is one day a year when zombies and blood sucking vampires come out from hiding and threaten to take over the world! It is also a great time to think about sharing some of that red stuff! I don’t mean letting a vampire bite you – I mean letting a nurse skillfully take a blood donation or better yet, a platelet donation that can be lifesaving to many recipients.
Did you know that you can use administrative leave to donate blood or platelets (a component of blood)? In addition, you can receive an additional 4 hours after the donation to recuperate! This is under Article 36 of the 2016 National Agreement.
What an excellent opportunity to help someone in need and take a break from your day to day work responsibilities. Blood and platelet donations save lives! Blood and platelet donor rooms are open in most hospitals and they are in dire need of eligible donors. Now is the time to make an appointment and request the administrative time! You will be screened to see if you can donate and then you can save a life on administrative time!
You will receive your time to travel to and from the donation site, the time required to screen you, and the time needed to make the donation. After that, you get 4 hours to recover at home. Even if you are found to be ineligible to donate, you still get the time it took you to travel back and forth to the donation site and the time it took to determine if you could donate.
If you haven’t donated in a while, take the time to make an appointment. If you have never donated, now is the time to start! Find out if you are eligible and donate on a regular basis! Someone out there will be forever grateful!