BLOOD DONATION

April 9, 2026

By: Donna Chisholm Schoening

I recently donated blood. In order to donate my blood I had to weigh at least a certain amount, no problem there. I had to be a certain age and in good health, definitely old enough. There was also a list of things that I could not have done in the last three months in order to be able to donate blood. Where I have traveled in the last three years also could impact my ability to donate.  

www.nhlbi.nih.gov/education/blood/donation states that every two seconds someone in the United States needs blood. Each whole blood donation is one pint and can save up to three lives. Only three percent of people who are eligible by age donate blood each year. 

While my blood could save up to three people, it can not be just any three random people. My blood type has to be a match for the people receiving the blood. If a person received my blood and does not have a compatible blood type it could be life threatening for them. Their body will attack my blood because it is foreign to them. The blood is kept for up to one year. However, the platelets are stored in agitators for only up to five days!

My donation took about thirty minutes of my day. There was a little “prick” to my arm but no pain. The worst part was I had to sit there and not be up moving around. They offered me cookies and juice after my donation. 

I think of blood as liquid gold because a person can not live without it and finding a complete substitute for blood has yet to be found. President George Washington’s family learned the value of blood when he was subjected to excessive “bloodletting” by his doctors to cure a throat infection. It is believed that the loss of about forty percent of his blood contributed to his demise. We know blood is vital to life because God told the children of Israel the life of a creature is in the blood.

Leviticus 17:11a    For the life of the flesh is in the blood.

As valuable as my blood is to save other lives it does not even begin to compare to the value, impact and importance of the blood of Jesus Christ. It will be very easy to see the difference as we compare the two. 

My blood donation of one pint took a very brief period of time, virtually no discomfort and the reward of cookies and juice. It cost me nothing but 30 minutes of my time. However, Jesus shedding His blood for us cost Him His very life. Jesus gave all He had to give! He was brutally tortured for many hours. He endured a mock trial. They spat on Him and ridiculed Him. He anguished in pain being beaten, punched, a crown of thorns placed on His head and then hanged on a cross to suffer until He died. More than the physical agony He endured was likely the weight of the sin of the world because He is sinless.

Matthew 27:28-30,35a   And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. 29 When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”  30 Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head… 35a Then they crucified Him.

My blood has a “life” of 5 days to one year and then it is discarded, if not used by then. If I want to help others, I will need to donate again and again. A person can donate whole blood every fifty-six days, platelets every seven days, plasma every twenty-eight days, and double red cells every 112 days. The power in Jesus' blood transcends all time. It will never need to be discarded. The power of the blood of Jesus has the same amount of power today as it had when He shed it. It still has the power to save, deliver and heal. The Bible tells us that He died once and for all! He does not need to be a yearly sacrifice as the children of Israel were required to perform in the Old Testament. He will never need to go back to the cross. 

Romans 6:10  For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.  

Hebrews 10:10   By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

1 Peter 3:18   For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.

Even after passing all of the initial requirements my blood still had twelve tests performed on it to determine the blood type (even though I told them my blood type and they have it on file) and to make sure there are no infectious diseases in my blood. IF a donation were to test positive for any of the diseases, the blood is discarded and the donor is notified. Jesus' blood did not need to go through any typing or testing. His blood was perfect because He is God and without sin. 

Hebrews 10:12-14   But this Man after He offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13  from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. 14  For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. 

Due to my blood type, I am only able to donate to two possible blood types because the blood type needs to match. If a person not matching these blood types needs blood, they will need to get blood from a different source. My blood donation can only help a maximum of three people. However, there are no restrictions on whom Jesus can save. There is no limit to the number of people He has the power to save. The Bible tells us that Jesus came to save whoever believes in Jesus. Jesus’ blood did NOT have to be typed because He died for ALL that would believe and call on His name. 

John 3:16   For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life 

1 Timothy 2:6   who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

The Red Cross has a donation app that will show me where my blood goes to be used by a recipient. However, I will never know the person nor will they know me. Jesus knows every single person who accepts the power of the blood to wash away their sins. He knows them and calls them by name. Even more than Jesus knowing their name, they know His voice and follow Him. They have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ because of His sacrifice and resurrection on the cross of Calvary.

John 10:3   To Him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear His voice; and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. 

John 10:27   My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 

The person(s) who receive my blood may or may not even be aware they are getting a blood transfusion. They could be in a coma or under anesthesia. They may have been anticipating the need for a transfusion or it may have come without warning. However, those who are saved by the power of the blood of Jesus had to accept Him into their life as Lord and Savior. Without accepting Jesus Christ, His blood provides them NO benefit.  His blood in no way loses its power but until they accept it it does not purchase their salvation. They must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and accept Him into their life. 

Acts 16:31a   So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved”. 

As much as someone may need my blood to extend their life, it will only help them in this life on earth. Once they pass into eternity, my blood will have no benefit to them. The power in Jesus’ blood has the power to change someone’s destiny for all eternity from hell to heaven IF they “accept His ultimate donation”. In order to accept His ultimate donation, they must believe, confess and accept His salvation.

Romans 10:9-10, 13   If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

My prayer is that YOU have accepted the ultimate blood donation that Jesus so freely shed for you!