News

It’s the season of hearts, love and lots of chocolate! (Chocolate has to be good for blood donation, right?! We’ll keep telling ourselves that.) Now, if date-night in a crowded restaurant isn’t your jam this year or you consider Valentine’s Day nothing more than a made-up holiday, we get it. But here’s something to remember this February 14 – you’re someone’s type. No, not in the lovey-dovey-singles-mixer-what’s-your-type way, but the knowing-your-type-can-save-a-life way. Yeah – we’re talking about blood types!

What’s one thing first-time donors are super excited about when they come in to donate? Learning their blood type! It’s a fascinating detail many people don’t know about themselves. Just like two people are compatible with each other, only certain blood types are compatible to be transfused to patients with other blood types. Maybe you’ve heard of the universal blood type – O negative. That means patients of any blood type can receive O negative blood (but only 9% of the population actually has it!). The most common blood type is O positive with 39% of the population having it.

Now, the biggest question – why is knowing your blood type so important? Well, we’re glad you asked! Believe it or not, it’s not to give you any insight into who you should go chat with at the speed-dating event or to help you decide what kind of chocolate your significant other likes best (our advice: go with the variety box). Knowing your blood type is so important because it helps you know who you can receive blood from and who can receive your blood. It gives you a special knowledge about yourself. If you’re A positive, you know you can receive blood from O positive, O negative, A positive, and A negative donors. You also know who you can help – A positive and AB positive. So, when you see there’s a need for your blood type in the community, if you’re eligible, you can schedule a donation and help rebuild the supply of that blood type.

Whether you’re planning to embrace all the love in the air this Valentine’s Day or trying to forget the holiday even exists, we encourage you to remember that you’re someone’s type! Schedule a blood donation here or give us a call at (800) 280-4102. We’d be honored to celebrate Valentine’s Day (or just another Tuesday) with you!