Blood donations have fallen to catastrophic levels. Experts say young people need to step up.

There is a lot of good discussion here, but I'd like to toss in something else. Look around at the society we live in. Corporations don't care about health and well-being. Insurance companies don't care about health and well-being. Political leaders don't care about health and well-being. Pundits and think tanks don't care about health and well-being.

Caring, volunteering, and donation all require the right frame of mind. Between the stress of daily survival and the messages we get from the people with the most power and the loudest voices, it surprises me that anyone is still donating.

I gave blood routinely for years and years. Hours of my time on public transit and in the chair. Then, one time, I was sick and canceled because that is expected (nobody wants sick blood). They called me twice daily while I was sick to reschedule. Each time I said I would reschedule when I was healthy, but they didn't stop calling. It made me think of them as some telemarketing predators that are profiteering on my good will. True or not that feeling made me not go back.