I dont know what it's like elsewhere in the world, but in Britain, once you turn 17 you can attend somewhere and donate your blood (you get free biscuits and drinks and stuffs in return).
So I got sent a letter today (the envelope said, and I quote, "we want your blood").
In the letter it began:
We dont pretend to understand you.
We've no idea what you like and what you dont.
But we do know you're 17 so you can now give blood.
I already knew I was old enough to give blood, some of my friends already have.
But, trouble is, the letter is wrong and I cant give blood.
I'm not heavy enough, basically. You have to weigh above a certain amount (because taking a pint of blood from you could be dangerous otherwise) and I'm under that. Not by much, though.
It makes me feel guilty when it says "you could ignore this letter or you could choose giving blood" but trust me, I dont think I could be heavier even if I ate 3 times as much as I do now.
I also heard that it's mainly women who give blood. My friends said that when they went to give blood there was only a couple of men there and the rest were female. Why is that? :S
Has anybody else given blood before or want to?
Is it different elsewhere in the world? I heard that in the USA you got paid, but I dont know if thats true?