Day 22 - Today I am grateful for....The Australian Red Cross Blood Service

I gave plasma tonight at the Toowoomba Base, Red Cross Blood Service, with my friend Tiffany.

It's something that we do every couple of weeks and I'm proud to be a blood donor.

I'd been a blood donor years and years ago, but then I got a bit wild and got a few tattoos and started smoking and blood donation kind fell by the wayside. I was always an organ donor and I guess in hindsight, I thought that was enough. I'm not sure why, but I'm going to go with laziness on my behalf. I make no excuses.

However, given that RE/MAX is a part of the Corporate Challenge for blood donation, it seemed only fitting, as a long standing staff member that I do my bit for my community.

I've never known anyone who has ever needed a blood product. Fortunately, my nearest and dearest have all been blessed with full and healthy lives. Of course I realised the importance of it and was happy to do what I could to help someone else, but I'd never known or understood the true importance of it all.

When Tiffany came to work one day a couple of months ago and told me that her little cousin, Olivia had been diagnosed with Leukaemia at 4 months old, tears pooled in her eyes and my heart broke right along with hers. She was clearly devastated but I'd never seen anyone so calm and poised for action. Not unlike myself, she would lie down in front of a truck for her family, no matter the cost. And so began our mission with the Australian Red Cross Blood Service.

The first time (and every time now) we gave plasma together, we did it for Olivia and the nurses advised us that they would call the next day to check we were both OK. I took the call and I advised Tiff that my plasma was fine, but hers had glitter in it and was only to be used by special little girls in Brisbane...

I believe that every day you should do something to better the life of someone else. No matter if that is a smile, a kind word or a thoughtful gesture. I live by this motto and this was my way of making her feel a little bit better, for her and for her family. Unbeknowns to me, Tiff shared my glitter story with Olivia's Mum and the rest of her family and the wonderful Nurses and Doctors caring for Olivia in Brisbane. 

Tiff's blood is now known as "glitter blood" and whilst we are aware, that the likelihood of Olivia actually receiving Tiffany's blood is remote, it doesn't matter. It's the thought that counts and there is even a little bag of glitter at the end of Olivia's bed in Brisbane to mark the gesture of a beloved family member.

RE/MAX Success won the corporate challenge for blood donation this year. Because we are that awesome.


We were invited to attend a breakfast with other donors in the challenge and it was encouraging to hear stories from survivors whom had benefited from blood products and blood / plasma donation.

I'll always be a blood donor. Never again will I let my commitment take a back seat to my passion. I hope and pray that I and my family / friends will never need a blood product, but if we do, the Australian Red Cross Blood Service will be there and so will I. What a simple and remarkable way to make a difference in someone's life.

So today, I'm grateful for the awesome work that the Australian Red Cross Blood Service do every day, for every day Australians like you & I.