That was a first. Last Saturday I responded to an urgent call from Cedars Sinai to donate blood.

You all well know that Los Angeles is in a very precarious situation due to COVID-19. Based on what I’ve learned through my nurse friend Carmen, LA hospitals are always low on blood, but especially now, with the unprecedented numbers of people in critical condition.

The purpose of this newsletter is to PLEASE consider donate some of your blood. I’ll share how it works and how you can help save three lives!!! Not a bad way to begin 2021, right?

Cedars Sinai put together a 3-day community drive at a restaurant in the Beverly Center – all very clean, well organized and with all COVID-19 protocol in place. A very nice and grateful man invited me to fill out a questionnaire, then took me to a nurse who made sure that I was healthy and that my blood was usable.

He took my blood pressure, monitored my heartbeat, and even tested my iron levels.

From there, he directed me to lay down on a gurney, and that’s when my eyes opened up to what being there really meant.

The practitioner and I began a conversation as he took one pint of blood out of my system. Did you know that it takes 6 minutes to take out one pint of blood from a human body? 😳

Anyways, with 6 minutes before us, and after he learned that I was born in Spain, he told me that he and his wife had seen the Spanish tv show “Money heist” on Netflix, and that they loved it. I immediately recommended him another one from the same creator and then I switched directions.

I was curious about something.

I looked at my own blood leaving my body, then looked at him and asked: “How many people can we save with one pint of blood?” He responded: “You’re going to save three lives.

I was sold forever! I felt so emotional thinking that if many of us donated blood, we could save so many lives!

I understand you may want to avoid public spaces, and I totally respect that – maybe you can donate in the future! However, if you feel inclined to move forward now, know that your gesture will make a big difference; that you’ll be very happy that you did, and that we will all be very grateful to you.

Here’s the contact information:

Cedars-Sinai Blood Donor Services

CedarsSinai@donatebloodcedars.org

The experience finishes up with a few gifts: a beautiful rose, a gift certificate to Tocaya, an email one week after letting you know if you have antibodies of COVID-19, and another email confirming your blood type – in case you don’t know or like me, you want to double check. 

And if you love the idea of donating blood, you can participate every two months – which means that you alone can save 18 lives every year! Who knows? Maybe one of those lives is someone you know 💗

Hope to see you at the next blood drive!

Naima

Boutique Concierge
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