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Why Should You Donate Blood with Your Senior?

Caregiver in Summit NJ: Donating Blood with your Senior
Caregiver in Summit NJ: Donating Blood with your Senior

Approximately 21 million components of blood are transfused each year. Every day more than 36,000 units of red blood cells are used. Every two seconds throughout the United States, someone is in need of blood. These statistics can be sobering and they illustrate the extreme importance of donating blood. There is no way to manufacture blood, meaning that the only way to get the blood that is needed for use in medical treatments, during procedures such as surgeries, or to support those who have suffered severe trauma is through donations from human volunteers. Though approximately 38 percent of the total population of the United States is fully eligible to donate blood at any given time, the unfortunate reality is that only around 10 percent of those who are eligible actually donate on a regular basis. This often results in a shortage of blood or not enough blood of certain types being available when it is needed. Because blood must go through a processing stage before it can be used, blood stores must be kept replenished so that in the event of an emergency, there is enough blood for those who need it.

Caregiver in Summit NJ: Donating Blood with your Senior
Caregiver in Summit NJ: Donating Blood with your Senior

As a family caregiver your responsibility is to help your parent live their highest quality of life. Part of that is supporting the sense that they are important and relevant, and that they can make a difference in the world around them. This boosts their mental and emotional health, supports motivation, and encourages them to stay active and engaged. One of the most valuable ways that you can do this is to find opportunities to volunteer with them, such as through blood donation.

When you donate blood with your senior you are not just making a difference to those in your community who are in need of the blood, you are also helping to create a better bond with your parent. By volunteering and engaging in opportunities together, you spend quality time together, strengthen your connection, get to know each other more in the context of your adult relationship, and make memories that you can treasure. Donating blood together is a powerful way to make a difference, both in the community and in your own care relationship. This is not only beneficial immediately, it can also have lingering impact that will influence your care relationship later. When you spend quality time with your parent and focus on fostering a strong relationship and bond, you support a sense of trust. This trust can come into play when your parent needs more care, when important decisions need to be made, or when they begin to experience greater challenges. By having a relationship that goes beyond just the immediate care tasks that you perform, you help your parent to maintain a more meaningful and fulfilling life now and into the future.

Being a family caregiver for an elderly adult can be very stressful and make you feel as though you are constantly trying to finish a to-do list that won’t stop growing. If you are feeling overwhelmed, as though you are not giving your aging parent the care that they deserve, like you have limitations that keep you from fulfilling care tasks in the appropriate way, or that your parent would simply benefit from additional care and support, home care can help. You do not have to do it all when you agree to be your parent’s caregiver. Being a caregiver means taking the steps to give your loved one what they need to manage their needs and make the most of their later years, and starting home care for them can accomplish this. This care provider can step in to fill care gaps, offer companionship, and enrich your parent’s life while ensuring that you continue to support and care for them in all of the ways that are right for both of you.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring caregiver services in Summit, NJ, call the caring staff at Helping Hands Home Care today at 908-418-4299. Providing Home Care Services in all of Northern and Central NJ, including Clark, Westfield, Cranford, Scotch Plains, Rahway, Linden, Summit, Edison, Elizabeth, Mountainside and the surrounding areas.

 

Source:

https://www.redcrossblood.org/promotions/midwest/its-national-blood-donor-month

Robert D'Arienzo

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