Several years ago, a student at one of our local schools passed away.
Since then, there has been an annual fundraiser and blood drive in his memory.
Many of the people I know have participated for years and one of my friends convinced me to go along this year. When we arrived the lines were long but at least we were in a building. You see, it was the middle of January and the outside temperatures were in the low 20’s. We all waited our turn and because the door kept opening and closing the room was still very cold. I was thankful when they called us to go into the donation room and hopeful that it would be warmer. We went through screening and sat comfortably for the next chairs to open up. I was a little nervous because I hadn’t donated blood in a few years, but I had come this far and wasn’t backing out now. When my time arrived everything was going great when I suddenly felt very cold. I am not sure if it was nerves, the room temperature, or just the fact that my blood was lower but I found myself shivering. I really just wanted a big blanket to warm myself up. I asked the technician if they could turn up the heat but he said that they had no control over it. It was set by the building owner. He apologized and said that there was hot coffee in the waiting room when I was finished donating. I really think that they need to take room temperature into account when they hold events like this. I am sure if they make arrangements ahead of time, the facility will boost the temperature for the few hours that they are holding donations.