Whether you spare some time and a pint of blood, or you find some way to volunteer your time with the Red Cross or other organizations, you have an opportunity to save a person’s life. 

Excuses are easy to make, whether it’s a time factor, personal opinion or something else, it’s easy to be selfish and miss out on an opportunity to help someone in need. The choice can be as small as ticking the box on your license to become a donor, or participating in a local blood drive.

It’s these small choices—which have almost no impact on the quality of your own life—that could mean the difference between someone’s life or death.

Something that people often forget is that taking medications can disqualify you from being able to donate. Perhaps you take a certain medication that, when blood transferred, could actually kill someone.

If you’re someone that uses medication to treat congenital heart failure, strokes or anything else, consult a doctor first to be sure that the donation process is safe for both the donor and receiver. 

If that applies to you, someone who takes medication that will put both you and the receiver at any risk, thankfully there are other ways to help. You can raise awareness for organ donation, or you can connect your friends and family who are able to donate with organizations like the Red Cross. 

You might be thinking, “I have too much going on in my life,” or, “How am I supposed to worry about someone else’s needs when I have my own?” You may be right, but that doesn’t mean we can’t participate in smaller ways.

There are plenty of opportunities out there for all types of people to get involved. Specifically, there’s always a need for blood donations, regardless of blood type. And for rare blood types, the need only grows.

Consider if you were on the other side of the equation, or perhaps maybe you’ve been helped before by someone else going out of their way to donate to you. Even for those who are unable to donate blood, for example, can still be a part of the process, and if you’re not sure how, seek answers.

When it comes to life or death, there is only progress when all of us come together with an intention to succeed.