What was My Biggest Community Contribution by haile

What was My Biggest Community Contribution by haile - January 2024 Scholarship Essay

My biggest contribution that I have made to my community was donating my blood to help save lives in need. I believe that this was my biggest contribution because it not only gave my a sense of purpose in my life but it helped save another persons as well. Donating blood can be a scaring thing for some people because they might have a fear of needles and can feel overwhelming. For me, it was both scary and joyful knowing it was a good thing that I was able to overcome my fear and just do it. Around 13.6 million units of blood are donated each year but only about 3% of American actually donate. There is more demand of red blood cells each and every day that can't always be fulfilled. That is why we need more new patients to donate and help save lives.

Everyone that donates can save up to 3 lives and one or more of those lives can be cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. People that live everyday with cancer can be the most at risk of having an allergic reaction because of them reacting to the new blood. The most severe cases of an allergic reaction is anaphylaxis which is the most life threatening. I believe that the more we get to know about the life saving efforts of donating our red blood cells can be a tremendous step in help saving many lives across the country and potentially those in need around the world. That is why I believe donating blood was my biggest community contribution not only for how it made me feel but how live saving this treatment is and can be.