What kind of commemorative gifts for the 10th blood donation? At 30, 50, and 100 times?

I went to a blood donation yesterday, and now I have donated blood a total of 16 times. (^_^)

Looking back, the first time I donated blood was in January 1995, during the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.

It was the first time in my life that I had experienced such a terrible event, and I was shocked.

I was unable to volunteer because of my work and could not donate much money, but when I heard on TV that there was a shortage of blood, I couldn’t stand still and went to donate blood.

Later, when I had donated blood a total of 10 times, the Japanese Red Cross Society sent me a commemorative gift, which surprised me but made me happy. In this article, I would like to introduce the gift I received and also summarize the current blood donation commemorative gift presentation, which has been changed since 2020.

Please refer to this article for more information on what you can receive for each blood donation.

This is the commemorative gift I received for donating blood 10 times.

It was probably about 10 years ago and my memory is a bit distant, but I remember I didn’t know about the commemorative gift for 10 times and was surprised that they sent it to me.

Please take a look at this picture I took when they sent it to me.

It was a beautiful mint green box about 10 cm on each side with “Blood Donation Commemorative” stamped in silver foil (the words are a little hard to see in the photo).

When you open it up…

It was a nice glass sake cup.

The side view is like this. It is a thick glass, 75mm in diameter and 60mm high. It is transparent, but has a faint pattern of bumps and concentric circles, and some parts of it look blue-purple depending on the angle.

It was accompanied by a bookmark with a profile of the artist.
It is said to be the work of Minami Tada, an artist and sculptor. Unfortunately, she has already passed away, but she left many wonderful works.

We would like to quote her words as they are written on the bookmark.

I think everyone wants to help people as much as possible so that everyone can live happily in this world.
Even if we are doing something, it is not always clear that it is really for the benefit of others. If there was something that would allow us to see this, it would make our hearts happy and give us confidence… I wanted to create something like that.

It touches my heart. I also really want to do something that will benefit others, even if only a little.

I am not much of a drinker, but I think it is good to drink sake, etc., and it is a beautiful vessel to look at.

There are more commemorative gifts that can be received for 10, 30, and 50 blood donations!

From here, I will summarize with reference to the official website of the Japanese Red Cross Society.

According to the Japanese Red Cross Society, the following announcement has been made as of now (September 2023).

The Japanese Red Cross Society offers the following commendations to express its gratitude to those who have donated blood on an ongoing basis. The number of times you have donated blood can be checked on your blood donation card or blood donation notebook. The number of times a person has donated blood is one time for all 200mL, 400mL, and component blood donations.

As of December 1, 2020, the number of souvenirs has been increased and the system has been changed to a selective system as follows.

This is the same as above, but this image is from the official website of the Japanese Red Cross Society.

The total number of blood donations in a year is limited to 6 times for men and 4 times for women for 200 mL and 3 times for men and 2 times for women for 400 mL, so 100 times may take quite a few years. (For component blood donation, “one platelet component blood donation is converted into two platelet component blood donations, and the total of plasma component blood donation and component blood donation is limited to 24 times.)

About the Japanese Red Cross LaBlood

Finally, I would like to tell you a little bit about “LaBlood, ” the Japanese Red Cross Society’s blood donation web membership service.

LaBlood” is a membership service launched in October 2008, based on the Japanese Red Cross Society’s “Multiple Blood Donation Club,” which has been in existence for some time.

You can view the record of your blood donation and make an appointment for the next one on your smartphone or computer, and you can also check your health by viewing a list of blood tests after donating blood. You can also see the “blood donation points” you have accumulated. There is no cost to register.

Since last September 2022, a smartphone application has been available, making it even more convenient. If you have donated blood at least once, it is very convenient and encouraging.

Click here to go to the LaBlood top page. If you are a first time user, you can register by clicking “New Web Registration”.

Summary

I have summarized the “blood donation 10 times commemorative gift” that I received in the past and the commemorative gifts that are currently available.

Although donating blood is not something I do for the sake of receiving a gift, I am honestly happy to receive a little praise for continuing to donate blood in this way, and it is very encouraging. I will continue to do so as long as I am able.

I will write about LaBlood and blood donation points in a separate article in the future.