Donating blood offers the opportunity to save three lives. It is best for the person donating blood to maintain a healthy and balanced diet. This healthy and balanced diet must be enriched with many iron-rich foods. Iron-rich foods provide the boost needed to donate blood. Saving human lives and bringing benefits to the community are the satisfaction of donating blood. Anyone who makes a donation will receive a free t-shirt with the Commit for Life slogan. The quick and easy process of donating blood gives people the opportunity to continue with their planned program. There is a screening process to check the iron levels of potential donors. Women are encouraged to eat iron-rich foods more often because iron levels in women are lower than those in men. As medical technology continues to advance, there is still no true substitute for blood. This reasoning makes it very important to donate blood when given the opportunity. In a medical emergency, the most important element is often the availability of blood. Donation provides essential units of blood that help save lives in many states when people are in need. About half a liter of blood is taken from each donor and this procedure generally takes five to ten minutes. It takes about a month for donated blood to be replaced. The entire donation process takes about an hour. There are four main blood types: A, B, O and AB. Together they are known as the ABO blood group system. According to the American Red Cross: “Red blood cells carry markers on their surfaces called antigens that determine a person's blood type. Group A has only antigen A on the red blood cells and antibody B in the plasma. Group B has only the B antigen on the red blood cells and the A antibody in the plasma. Group AB h...... middle of paper ......od drive is a non-profit organization from which people benefit greatly. If we did not have Regional Blood Collection, hospitals would not have enough blood to supply all the cancer patients, all the people who have recently had an accident and the people who are undergoing or have had surgery. Houston is currently experiencing a blood shortage and without the blood drive many lives would be lost. Our hamburger basket will be of great benefit to people in need of blood because the amount of people who donate will increase. The reason it will benefit you is because burgers will increase your iron levels. The main reason so many people sign up to donate blood and are turned away is because of low iron levels. A hamburger with one hundred percent real beef and a wholemeal or white bread bun will definitely increase people's iron level. Every person who donates saves 3 lives.