In September of 2019, I took a quick, 24-hour trip to Boston to shoot a special video for the American Red Cross. I teamed up with them to find out if I can donate blood to the American Red Cross even with my recent travels to India, a country that has a high instance of malaria. Come along with me as I travel to Boston to bust this myth!
Please visit redcrossblood.org/bloodmyths to make an appointment and save a life through blood donation
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I started my travel day at (surprise, surprise) Miami International Airport. I was excited to see how the day would go and was looking forward to working with the American Red Cross.
The American Red Cross the most well-known emergency blood service in America. They provide life-saving services to a wide variety of people, including accident victims, cancer patients, people who suffer from sickle cell, and many others. With so many people in need of blood, only 10% of eligible donors donate blood annually, which isn’t nearly enough to meet the demand. I want to help change that!
But I might hit a snag. I could run into issues donating blood because I’ve traveled extensively over the past three years, including three trips to India. As I mentioned earlier, India is considered high-risk for contracting malaria. Traveling there could cause me to be put under a required wait period before I can donate.
After a 3-hour flight, I arrived in Boston! It was a little cold and rainy, but I still love Boston. It’s one of my favorite cities in the U.S. and is a fantastic food town and is full of history!
I caught an Uber to the American Red Cross Center. It’s just south of the North End area, which has been inhabited since 1630! There are also lots of high rises there.
When you arrive at an American Red Cross Center, you’ll be asked some personal health questions and questions regarding any traveling you’ve done in the last 3 years. If you’ve been on anti-malaria drugs, you could be deferred. You’re ineligible if you’ve lived in or spent a significant amount of time in any country where mad cow disease has been found. You should wait 120 days after symptoms disappear if you’ve ever had the Zika virus, and anyone who has ever had ebola cannot donate.
Even if you’re ineligible to donate, you can still volunteer, donate money, or organize a blood drive through the American Red Cross.
I met the team leader, Marie, who walked me through the process. They had to scan the places I’ve traveled to. The amount of blood you give in 10 minutes can save 3 lives, so I really wanted to pass!
Because I spent over 12 hours in various cities around India and have been there within the last 12 months, I got deferred. A lot of the places I visited are an automatic 12-month deferral. I’d be able to donate a year and a day after I got back to the United States.
Even though I got deferred because of my travels to India, there are still plenty of places you can visit and still give blood, including Antarctica, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, Turkey, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and many more.
Look up the nearest American Red Cross location to you and take the steps to donate some blood. And even if you can’t, there are other ways to help the cause!
I hope you enjoyed this video of my trip to Boston to donate blood. If you did, please give it a thumbs up, leave a comment, and subscribe so you don’t miss any of my upcoming travel/food adventures!
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About Me:
My name is David Hoffmann. For the last decade, I have been traveling around the world in search of unique culture, food, and history! Since starting David’s Been Here in 2008, I have traveled to over 1,100 destinations in 74 countries, which I welcome you to check out on my YouTube channel, travel blog, and social media sites.
I focus a great deal on food and historical sites, as you probably have seen! I love to experience the different flavors that each destination has to offer, from casual street food to gourmet restaurant dining. I’m also passionate about learning about the local history and culture.
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