Not monetary, but donations of Blood, Bone Marrow and Organs after death. This is something else that I am passionate about and believe in 100%. I have been a blood donor for a long time, my last donation was my 31st.
I have carried a donor card since I was 16, then it was just to donate kidneys, now it's heart, lungs, kidneys, pancreas, liver, small bowel corneas, skin, bone and heart valves.
I think it's something that every healthy person should do... Did you know that in 2005 the National Blood Service (NBS) of the UK collected 2.1 million donations?
*1 Sounds a lot doesn't it? But it only comes from 1.6 million donors, thats about 5% of the population donating two to three times a year. Why do I donate my blood? Simple really, I like to think of others and how I can help them in their time of need, and if their time of need is blood then I've done my bit. And isn't it good to think that if we were involved in an accident and needed blood urgently that there was someone there who was prepared to give it selflessly?
Of course, blood nowadays is only used whole when there is an instance of severe blood loss, most ofthe time it is separated into it's constituent parts;
Red CellsUsed to treat anaemia, sickle cell disease and when red cells break down in newborns.
PlateletsUsed to treat bone marrow failure and post transplant and chemotherapy treatments, and leukaemia.
PlasmaUsed in during cardiac surgery and to treat loss of blood in childbirth.
Factor VIIIAs I'm sure most of you are aware this is used to treat haemophilia, and the albumin within plasma is beneficial to burns patients.
Why blood is vital even for the dying*2
Everyone knows blood is literally a lifesaver for those who’ve been in an accident or need it to help survive treatments and operations. But for some, whose illness has no cure and that last battle they face just can’t be won, a blood transfusion can help to improve their quality of life during their final months, weeks or even days.
Karen Clarke, a Community Nurse who gives transfusions to the terminally ill in their own homes, says, "These vital transfusions give patients a better quality of life. It gives them the energy and ability to enjoy this precious, final time with their families."
But this time is often a gift that only blood can provide. In some serious accidents, its use can mean that a critically ill patient can stay alive long enough for their loved ones to reach the hospital to see them, one last time. Priceless.
Thats a lot of uses for the 470ml of blood that is taken on each visit. A little discomfort in order to help your fellow humans is a small price to pay. At the same time as giving blood it is possible (in the UK) to also ask to be put on the British Bone Marrow Register (I am on the Anthony Nolan Trust Register) as a potential donor of bone marrow.
As for Organ Donation I believe that with the acute shortage of organ donors that it's time the Government changed the law and made it an opt-oput scheme rather than the current opt-in. Of course if you have opted in and joined the Transplant Register
*3, make sure your loved ones know of your wishes. At the moment far too many people are dying from a lack of donations, think about helping those less fortunate than yourself, it's a great feeling knowing you are helping someone to have a better quality of life after you die.
*1 National Blood Service figures
*2 www.blood.co.uk
*3 www.uktransplant.org.uk
Bit of a big jump now, into my late 30's... Taken when I'd be about 38, you can see that I bear no resemblance whatsoever to the pictures of me when I was younger. But at least my hair is straight now (well, what bit I have left) 
Talking about hair, from having none, to having curly hair we are back to "square one"... :D
And thence to the most recent photograph of me... Taken at Ladybower Reservoir in March of this year...
I'm not sure if this quick journey through my 41 years is interesting, I find it is. It maps who I am and who I was.
