Is this volunteering?

Med School Insiders
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
mccarty7

mccarty7

MD Applicant
10+ Year Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2010
Messages
209
Reaction score
1
Would you guys consider frequent blood donation a volunteer service? I donate every time I'm allowed. 🙄
Members don't see this ad.
 
mccarty7 said:
Would you guys consider frequent blood donation a volunteer service? I donate every time I'm allowed. 🙄
Click to expand...

maybe next time you are thinking of donating blood: which is don't get me wrong a wonderful and altruistic thing to do, opt to volunteer to help a blood drive instead?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Probably doesn't count as volunteering. But giving blood is still awesome. 🙂
 
I did see someone do this (put it on the AMCAS). It was long-term (6 yrs maybe? and 6-8 times per year-- it might have also been described in terms of "gallons") and also mentioned why the applicant thought it was important.... as I recall, it was well received by the adcom at my school.
 
LizzyM said:
I did see someone do this (put it on the AMCAS). It was long-term (6 yrs maybe? and 6-8 times per year-- it might have also been described in terms of "gallons") and also mentioned why the applicant thought it was important.... as I recall, it was well received by the adcom at my school.
Click to expand...
Kinda TMI, but when I read this, I REALLY wish I would have had enough to donate breastmilk when I was nursing my daughter, but I didn't have the supply to do it.
 
I'd love to see blood donors use their social networking skills to promote blood donation to classmates & friends who are eligible to donate. My daughter has used facebook to promote a scheduled blood drive at her school and this adds an element of leadership to the endeavor. (She has no interest in every applying to medical school.)
 
It's not volunteering... It's donating, no matter the frequency of your donations. There's a pretty big difference. Now, if you were giving your time and energy to assist the American Red Cross (or whatever agency) during one of their blood drives, that would be volunteering.
 
I doubt it. I mean, if donating blood counts as volunteering then so does donating to a sperm bank (which would be one of the best answers to an AMCAS question ever)
 
True. I guess you could always waive your paycheck in order to make it volunteer
 
I don't want to argue with the authority of LizzyM, but I don't understand how blood donation can be considered volunteering. It is a great thing to do, but if I donate $30 a month for a couple years to UNICEF or something, is that also considered volunteering? That doesn't make sense to me.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Web MD said:
I doubt it. I mean, if donating blood counts as volunteering then so does donating to a sperm bank (which would be one of the best answers to an AMCAS question ever)
Click to expand...
Beneficial to all parties!
 
MisterVeil said:
I don't want to argue with the authority of LizzyM, but I don't understand how blood donation can be considered volunteering. It is a great thing to do, but if I donate $30 a month for a couple years to UNICEF or something, is that also considered volunteering? That doesn't make sense to me.
Click to expand...

Donating blood takes about an hour... far longer than it takes to write a check. It involves a little discomfort and it can save the lives of several individuals (different components are administered to different patients based on their needs). There is no substitute for human blood (and not for lack of trying to find a blood substitute -- efforts have been ongoing for decades and all have been unsuccessful) and it is essential in the modern practice of medicine.

While there are many people who are ineligible to donate, those who can should consider it an act of generosity.

Let's say someone begins at age 16 and applies at age 21... 6 times per year for 5 years is 30 hours...that's about as much as someone who does 2-3 hours from September through December of one year which is not an uncommon sort of volunteer thing.
 
I can see listing it if it was both frequent and something you cared about, such that you constantly tried to get people to donate with you. Seems sort of like a fiddly addition, though.
 
LizzyM said:
There is no substitute for human blood (and not for lack of trying to find a blood substitute -- efforts have been ongoing for decades and all have been unsuccessful) and it is essential in the modern practice of medicine.
Click to expand...
What about soy sauce? It goes with every single food, and I'm sure it could serve as a viable replacement for blood as well. As a matter of fact, I might try it out real quick right now.

brb, revolutionizing modern medicine
 
MisterVeil said:
What about soy sauce? It goes with every single food, and I'm sure it could serve as a viable replacement for blood as well. As a matter of fact, I might try it out real quick right now.

brb, revolutionizing modern medicine
Click to expand...

If it works put it on your application -- I think adcoms would sit up & take notice... it might be as good as finding a cure for cancer.
 
MisterVeil said:
What about soy sauce? It goes with every single food, and I'm sure it could serve as a viable replacement for blood as well. As a matter of fact, I might try it out real quick right now.

brb, revolutionizing modern medicine
Click to expand...
Just don't use worcestershire sauce. That makes zombies.
 
LizzyM said:
Donating blood takes about an hour... far longer than it takes to write a check. It involves a little discomfort and it can save the lives of several individuals (different components are administered to different patients based on their needs). There is no substitute for human blood (and not for lack of trying to find a blood substitute -- efforts have been ongoing for decades and all have been unsuccessful) and it is essential in the modern practice of medicine.

While there are many people who are ineligible to donate, those who can should consider it an act of generosity.

Let's say someone begins at age 16 and applies at age 21... 6 times per year for 5 years is 30 hours...that's about as much as someone who does 2-3 hours from September through December of one year which is not an uncommon sort of volunteer thing.
Click to expand...

I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one. To me, it's no different than donating your clothes to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. Let's say that every semester, you clean out your closet to donate some of your clothes. The process overall takes maybe 45 minutes to clean out your closet, another 5 to bag them up, another 10 to drive there, and another 10 to have the clothes processed. Overall, the process has taken a little over an hour total, and you do this 2-3 times per year without being paid. Your donation has most likely elevated the quality of life of the recipient of those clothes, and donations, such as yours, are vital to the success of the program and are important to the community at large. This, like donating blood, is a generous act, but it is not the same as volunteering.
 
While it is not volunteering, I would say blood donation involves the same level (so-to-speak) of altruism, and while it is hard to present it well on the application, it shouldn't be that way. It's something that requires putting yourself at a slight discomfort, giving up strenuous activity for the day, if that is something you do regularly, and it might actually save someone's life.
 
lstone13 said:
It's not volunteering... It's donating, no matter the frequency of your donations. There's a pretty big difference. Now, if you were giving your time and energy to assist the American Red Cross (or whatever agency) during one of their blood drives, that would be volunteering.
Click to expand...

It is definitely a donation, but I need to volunteer roughly two hours of my time to do it (transportation+interview+prep+32 minute donation+snack time!).

Geekchick921 said:
Just don't use worcestershire sauce. That makes zombies.
Click to expand...

Indeed it does.

lstone13 said:
I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one. To me, it's no different than donating your clothes to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. Let's say that every semester, you clean out your closet to donate some of your clothes. The process overall takes maybe 45 minutes to clean out your closet, another 5 to bag them up, another 10 to drive there, and another 10 to have the clothes processed. Overall, the process has taken a little over an hour total, and you do this 2-3 times per year without being paid. Your donation has most likely elevated the quality of life of the recipient of those clothes, and donations, such as yours, are vital to the success of the program and are important to the community at large. This, like donating blood, is a generous act, but it is not the same as volunteering.
Click to expand...

Unless the blood donor has extra blood lying around that they don't use, it's not quite the same as donating old clothes. 😉
 
wanderer100 said:
While it is not volunteering, I would say blood donation involves the same level (so-to-speak) of altruism, and while it is hard to present it well on the application, it shouldn't be that way. It's something that requires putting yourself at a slight discomfort, giving up strenuous activity for the day, if that is something you do regularly, and it might actually save someone's life.
Click to expand...

What's with that, anyway?
 
TooMuchResearch said:
Yeah, really. I don't get it 😕
Click to expand...
Well, you know blood carries oxygen to the tissues. You're a pint low. They don't want you to exert yourself too much right afterwards. You might get winded or actually pass out if you don't respond well to donating. Makes sense to me. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
 
There is a line between volunteer and paid employment.... Employment, military is one that has its own category on the AMCAS. VISTA, Peace Corps, Teach for America, Jesuit Volunteer Corps all pay something toward living expenses, provide health insurance, etc but are considered "service" because one is paid less than the market rate for one's services.

Most people go through their closets periodically to tidy things up and clear things out. Whether you throw the stuff out, give it to a friend, donate it to charity or sell it on ebay is up to you... It is not the same as having a needle stuck in your arm... unless you have a condition that requires you to be bled periodically (2 points to the person who can name a common genetic condition that requires this) blood donating is hardly comparable to donating clothing to Goodwill.
 
As a volunteer for the Red Cross, I can say definitively that we hold our donors in the highest regard. We recognize frequent donors, call in donors when we need them (like right now - 20% of all our donors are between 16 and 24, and they're not as likely to donate when school's not going on - and are more likely to need blood when they've got free time like this), and encourage future donation.

That said, I will also need to disagree with LizzyM. Red Cross volunteers undergo orientation, training, and background checks. They are responsible for ensuring that blood drives go smoothly and that donors have positive experiences. While the donor lies in a bed and reads a book, our volunteers work to keep everything running smoothly. Volunteers put in hours on phones, on the floor, and between events.

Yes, I can see that a donor is doing something humanitarian. No one requires that a donor gives blood, and it takes a special kind of person to do it. Less than 5% of eligible adults give blood, and of those 5%, only about 30% donate more than once. We appreciate the time taken out of their day and all the trouble they go through to give blood. That said, blood donation is an activity, not volunteer work.

Perhaps instead of stating it as "30 hours volunteer work", you could state "frequent blood donor" and explain how much you've given. LizzyM would be the one to tell you how to phrase it, but from the perspective of an actual Red Cross volunteer (500+ hours, I might add!), you are not a volunteer for our organization; you are a voluntary donor.

That's my two cents. Anyone else?
 
LizzyM said:
There is a line between volunteer and paid employment.... Employment, military is one that has its own category on the AMCAS. VISTA, Peace Corps, Teach for America, Jesuit Volunteer Corps all pay something toward living expenses, provide health insurance, etc but are considered "service" because one is paid less than the market rate for one's services.

Most people go through their closets periodically to tidy things up and clear things out. Whether you throw the stuff out, give it to a friend, donate it to charity or sell it on ebay is up to you... It is not the same as having a needle stuck in your arm... unless you have a condition that requires you to be bled periodically (2 points to the person who can name a common genetic condition that requires this) blood donating is hardly comparable to donating clothing to Goodwill.
Click to expand...

Oh! Oh! This was on House once, I think! Hemochromasomethingorother!
 
Janieve said:
As a volunteer for the Red Cross, I can say definitively that we hold our donors in the highest regard. We recognize frequent donors, call in donors when we need them (like right now - 20% of all our donors are between 16 and 24, and they're not as likely to donate when school's not going on - and are more likely to need blood when they've got free time like this), and encourage future donation.

That said, I will also need to disagree with LizzyM. Red Cross volunteers undergo orientation, training, and background checks. They are responsible for ensuring that blood drives go smoothly and that donors have positive experiences. While the donor lies in a bed and reads a book, our volunteers work to keep everything running smoothly. Volunteers put in hours on phones, on the floor, and between events.

Yes, I can see that a donor is doing something humanitarian. No one requires that a donor gives blood, and it takes a special kind of person to do it. Less than 5% of eligible adults give blood, and of those 5%, only about 30% donate more than once. We appreciate the time taken out of their day and all the trouble they go through to give blood. That said, blood donation is an activity, not volunteer work.

Perhaps instead of stating it as "30 hours volunteer work", you could state "frequent blood donor" and explain how much you've given. LizzyM would be the one to tell you how to phrase it, but from the perspective of an actual Red Cross volunteer (500+ hours, I might add!), you are not a volunteer for our organization; you are a voluntary donor.

That's my two cents. Anyone else?
Click to expand...

AMCAS has a section called "Experience". One can list blood donor as an experience. How it would be categorized in the pull down menu...? Maybe as other (like shadowing). I wouldn't get upset by someone calling it "volunteer, non-clinical". I'd skip average hours per week and just put start date and end date and explain in the text the frequency of donations and why the donor thinks it is an important activity.

I also believe that there is a great benefit in "talking it up" with one's peer group through social networking and the like. It is appalling that so few eligible people donate and that so few are repeat donors.
 
shiftingmirage said:
She's probably referring to hemophilia. As for house, at one point they had a pheochromocytoma. Maybe that's what you are thinking of?
Click to expand...
No, definitely not. And treating hemophilia would absolutely NOT involve being bled periodically. In fact, that would be the last thing you'd want to do. Hemophilia is a clotting disorder.

Found the exact name. Hemochromatosis. Genetic disorder that causes your body to absorb too much iron from food. Treatment involves regular phlebotomy. Ba-dow!

Here's the House episode. http://house.wikia.com/wiki/The_Jerk
 
shiftingmirage said:
She's probably referring to hemophilia. As for house, at one point they had a pheochromocytoma. Maybe that's what you are thinking of?
Click to expand...

Oy! You don't want to bleed a person with hemophilia! They don't clot well after you pull the needle out!

Pheochromocytoma is caused by ahormone producing tumor near/on the adrenal gland. Blood letting is not a treatment for that condition.

Hereditary Hemachromatosis was what I was going for. It is an abnormality of iron metabolism.
 
LizzyM said:
...I also believe that there is a great benefit in "talking it up" with one's peer group through social networking and the like. It is appalling that so few eligible people donate and that so few are repeat donors.
Click to expand...

Well, I for one, used to donate blood on a schedule but quit because the phlebotomists at the Red Cross closest to me were complete *****s. Every time I donated, they would miss several times. Three of the five times, I was bruised along my entire arm. I don't think these people are trained enough to be pricking people.
 
This is really funny- I was literally having this conversation with my husband this morning on the way to school. I do donate blood as regularly as I can, but I was joking when I asked him if I could put it on a med school application if I had donated "gallons." I don't think it counts, but it is a noble thing to do, and I agree with other posters- volunteering with the Red Cross is definitely more relevant. Plus, if you regularly donate, they already know and like you!
 
I have a similar question to this... what about being a hair donor? I've donated my hair twice, 15 inches both times. It took me about two years to grow my hair each time. I know I wasn't actually really doing anything during those two year periods, but do you think it would be ok to put on applications that I've done it? I just think it's a good thing to do and probably somewhat unique.
 
Jewels89 said:
I have a similar question to this... what about being a hair donor? I've donated my hair twice, 15 inches both times. It took me about two years to grow my hair each time. I know I wasn't actually really doing anything during those two year periods, but do you think it would be ok to put on applications that I've done it? I just think it's a good thing to do and probably somewhat unique.
Click to expand...

You know what? If people are going to say that blood donation is volunteering, I figure you can go right ahead and say that donating hair is volunteering. Same idea, right? You give something that came from your body to someone sick and in need. And two years to grow it each time is about four years, so go ahead and mark down 35,000 hours of hair donation. Or mark down the time it took to cut it and ship it; that's what, 2 hours?

I am going to stand my ground. Donating body parts/fluids/etc. is not volunteering. It's a service and it's humanitarian, but it is not volunteering.
 
goldendoor said:
but you are volunteering to give your blood
Click to expand...

I also volunteer to hold the door open for strangers and I volunteer to take the trash out when I visit my parents. I volunteer to give my change to the barista when I get coffee and I volunteer to give directions to visitors to my city.

For that matter, I volunteer to give answers in class. So my entire education is really a volunteer experience! And I volunteer to take the extra hours at work. Looks like work is a volunteer experience too! And so is doing my chores - voluntary, uncomfortable, and for the good of others!

If you look at what you 'volunteer' to do as 'volunteer work', I think anyone would easily have over 100,000 years of volunteer work under their belt.

If donating blood is that meaningful to you, put it under the heading 'experience - other'. Because that's really what giving blood is - an experience.

But hey, I'm just the Red Cross volunteer and undergraduate. If LizzyM thinks it's volunteer work, then call it that. She's the admissions expert.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
Is this clinical volunteering?
Replies
9
Views
289
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
kirvoyant
Would this count as volunteering?
Replies
7
Views
502
LizzyM
LizzyM
H
  • Locked
Is this what volunteering abroad means?
Replies
2
Views
616
gyngyn
gyngyn
P
Is 150 nonclinical volunteering adequate?
Replies
11
Views
705
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
A
  • Question Question
Unconventional Extracurriculars? Is this considered a hobby or nonclinical volunteering?
Replies
4
Views
662
AJS59
AJS59
Top