I have never donated blood before. Personally, I've never thought about it, so as I begin this mission, I wonder why I never even thought about donating before? Is it the lack of publicity, my lack of time, my altruism or my laziness? To be honest, looking back on it now, it was probably a combination of everything. As someone who is relatively young (22 years old) and has not experienced a serious medical issue with myself or a close family member, thank goodness I don't think I have I realize the importance of good health, but I take it all for granted. I think when topics like organ donation, blood donation, and other serious medical topics come up, they come to mind like words. I hear the words but I never mentally think about the subject itself. Now, while doing this project, I mentally think about all aspects of donating blood. The process of donating blood itself and the benefits that other people will receive from this blood. As part of this project, I will receive blood in the coming days. The more I think about the process, the more nervous I become. I constantly think about the needles piercing my skin, but what makes me most nervous about this situation is wondering how I will feel when the blood is drawn out of me. Will it be cold? Will I suffer physically? I wanted to write this part of my review before donating for several reasons. I think after donating blood I will have a biased view of the situation, even if it will be positively in favor of donating blood or if I didn't enjoy the experience it would lean somewhat towards a start negative for this mission. I think the statistics of how many lives my blood could potentially save in the middle of a sheet of paper... the procedure as a single entity, but I will consider the procedure as part of the overall experience. An experience that I am sure I will be able to participate in again, not only to help others, but also to brighten my own day. Over the past few weeks, through donating blood, attending conferences and researching I have learned a lot about the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, the blood collection process and the overall importance of blood donation. I learned that my blood not only helps people with accidents, but also that platelets can help people with cancer while saving newborns. I also learned that donating blood is not difficult, difficult, or scary, but that the overall experience is positive. Above all, the fact that my blood can save lives is by far the most critical fact I have learned over the past few weeks..