Might As Well Be Vampires Talking

I get it. Really, I do.

I have a relatively unusual blood type. O negative (O-.) Only about 7% of the overall population has it.

Besides being rare, O- is also the "universal donor" blood type. That's what makes it important. Without going too far into the science of it, there is nothing in O- blood that will react negatively with the A and B proteins on the red blood cells of people who have A, B or AB blood types, or the Rh factor protein in anyone with a "positive" blood type (eg O+, A+, etc.) Virtually anyone can accept a transfusion of O- blood without having a nasty clotting reaction and potentially dying.

This makes O- blood very, very popular in the medical world. Hospitals want to have a stockpile of it around because they can give it to anybody without worrying if it is going to cross-react and cause problems. And it can be the difference between life and death when somebody with a seriously rare blood type like AB- needs a transfusion and there just isn't enough of that rare type in the blood bank.

Like I said, I get why having enough O- blood on hand is important for blood banks.

But when I get two texts in two days from two different banks saying, "We desperately need your blood! Please come in!", it still looks pretty strange on my phone. I have to smile.

And I have to go and donate blood ASAP, too.