This weekend is the local Gift of Life blood drive here in Indianapolis, and they asked me to come back for an interview again this year!! Last year (Jan 2005), Molly & I both were interviewed live during the morning news about what happened when she was born, and they got a great response from donors coming in who said they'd seen us on the news and decided to come donate.

This past Wednesday I was sorting the mail here at home, and suddenly, my picture was staring at me...:woa: Then in our email inbox, we got the same thing. :lol: All central Indiana blood donors got the post card, so hopefully this weekend's blood drive will bring in a bunch of donors!!

http://www.cirbc.org/images/jpegfiles/GOL-2006em.gif


For those of you local (Dori, Shel, JennyB, Jeni, Sherry...anyone else?), my interview is scheduled for just after 8:30am local time on WTHR-13. I think I'm leaving the girls at home this year...they are too interested in being the center of attention or getting into everything! :lol:

and hey...even if you aren't in Indiana...GO DONATE BLOOD!!!! I do it now every 8 weeks like clockwork, and it's nowhere near as painless as I always thought it would be. Thanks to the generosity of 7 people I'll never know who took the time to donate blood, I'm still around to see my girls grow and learn every day. Truly a priceless gift.

That's really neat, Amy! :aok: I think it does help to see the human side behind the blood you donate. I've finally gotten back into the habit of donating every 8 weeks or so. It's nice to feel like I'm giving a valuable gift to someone who really needs it. (I'm O-, so they love me! :lol: ) And you're right, it really isn't as painful as you'd think it would be, nor does it take very long. I think once we've gone through all of the obligatory questions and iron testing, it only takes a total of about 15 minutes for the actual draw.

That's so cool Amy. I wonder if you could ever get a tape of the broadcast or find some way to post a link to the interview online? You should ask them!

Amy that is awsome!!!

Pretty cool, Amy! :aok:

Amy, that is too cool! :up:

:woo: Soooo cool!!!!

Amy - That is so cool! I will try and sneak from my cube to the breakroom around 8:30. I saw the news this morning about the drive and thought...oh, I should do that. Then I realized that they won't take me while I am baking a baby!

Amy, that is so neat. Wish I could see it.

That's great Amy!

Ah man, I missed it and I could have tivo'd it! Dernit!! So cool Amy!

How neat! My MIL told me that went through the same thing you did when DH was born & had to have a transfusion, as well.

Off to check whether I can donate!

I had a hair appt and missed it too :(

What a great thing Amy!

You're famous!!!! That is wonderful, especially since your story brought in donors.

How did it go?

Terrific! :)

That's great Ami!!

I try to donate as much as I possibly can, I used to give Platelets too, great way to get some time to yourself even if it is with a needle in the arm lol totally worth it!! :lol:

I just noticed the freebies you all get, in Canada I think it's against the law to give anything for blood :dunno:

Freebies?! :jawdrop: What do they get that we don't get?! :lol: Damn it's tough being a Canuck sometimes! :lol:

Okay, I just noticed that it was food and car washes. :lol: We'll, I'm already a donor, and I can't say I'd be more inclined to get stuck with needles just for the promise of an Arby's beef bun and a car wash! :lol: Now if you talk chocolate, I might be interested in donating a bit more often... :lick: :lol:

I hope ya'll donated!! ;)

The interview went really well...it was only 2 minutes, but everybody who saw it said it looked good and I sounded OK. :lol: The cool part is that afterwards their marketing dept wanted to get some head shots of me in their lobby to use in future mailings, and they talked to me a bit about doing other blood drives and acting as a sort of coordinator for blood drives in my hometown where I go to college. It's an hour north of where I live now, but I'm there two days/week so she said we could probably arrange it around my schedule.

I never thought about it being illegal in some countries to give gifts for donating. :dunno: I know there are signs up at the blood center I go to telling people that if they have been promised extra credit at their high school to tell them, because that's illegal now. (I guess some schools used to give extra credit to students.) Just for doing the interview yesterday I got the free car wash & combo meal, plus a nice pen, a travel mug, and little stuffed mascots for the girls. :lol: All typical marketing stuff I guess!

Darrell said everybody he works with was talking about it last night when he went in, and a couple of the managers who donate blood had gotten the postcard at their homes, so he had a couple extra copies tucked in his mailbox. He thinks it's pretty cool!

That's so cool Ami! I wonder if you can see the interview online?

As soon as I feel better I'll book my appointment to give blood, with or without the freebie :)

Lisa, nope...I checked, and they don't have the video on their website. However, if you click on this link http://www.cirbc.org/ for the Central Indiana Regional Blood Center, and then click on "Gift of Life" under Promotions, it's another copy of the postcard with the picture of me & the girls. :lol: That was quite a shock yesterday...I was just looking for a video link, but found that!

That is really awesome Amy! Good for you! I bet the girls were thrilled to see you on TV.