My whole life I was told I couldn't give blood. In light of COVID, the American Red Cross relaxed a couple regulations, and in summer 2020 I was able to donate blood for the first time!
Having lived abroad my first couple years, I was ineligible to donate blood in the US, but I was determined to do it sometime, somewhere, somehow. I looked up blood donation in other countries, but local laws prohibit people from donating if they don't own land in that country or read the language well enough to sign the waiver. These are such arbitrary rules - if I'm bleeding out I'm not concerned about the language spoken or the total acreage a person has, I care that it's blood, and that it's going to save my life. I was glad the American Red Cross modified its guidelines, and hope to see more and more people become eligible and donate.
