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Blood-donation certificates...should I mentioned about it in OMSAS application?


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But it DOES reflect what kind of person I am. I like giving and helping other people - frequent blood donation is only one of examples which reflects myself.

 

 

so basically you're asking for credit for something that most donors do selflessly and without recognition.

 

yea.. that speaks VOLUMES about your character...

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Kevin, don't write it. It doesn't tell anything about you except that you run out of things to write, and that you take credit for something that should be done without recognition, as krgreg said.

 

It doesn't prove anything about your capacities to become a good doctor. It might be a good thing to mention during an interview, if in the subject, but that's all. But then, don't spend important time talking about that.

 

You should write activities in your application.

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Sure, it helps people. But do you put down how much money you've donated to the Salvation Army? It takes me 2 hrs to make 20$ that I donated to the Salvation Army every month. Appropriate for an application? no.

 

I agree. ECs are an important part of your application because they've helped you grow as a person, learn more about yourself and the world (and, possibly, medicine) and given your qualities and insight that would make you a better physician.

 

If donating blood had motivated you to get involved with Canadian Blood Services campaigns or something I could see it being worthwhile to mention... but otherwise it's basically like donating money to charity. Not that its meaningless or not worthwhile, but blood donation alone won't contribute anything to your future abilities as a physician.

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On a purely practical level you want to have things on your application that you can talk about for a few minutes - how the activity is important to you, how you learned from it, and how it reveals important aspects of yourself. You also want to be honestly enthusiastic about it as well.

 

The trouble in my mind about including it is that it does "go anywhere" at an interview. How would that conversation last more than 10 seconds? There are very likely way, way more important things you did that you can include that would be more useful for you.

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Since the response in here could have some reflection of what people on adcoms might think, I would not risk putting it on. I'm sure you are doing it for purely altruistic reasons, but if you started donating blood to pad your application, that's pretty pathetic. I'm sure you did not do it for that reason though, and I'm not going to judge you without even knowing who you are. Maybe the Canadian Blood Services needs to start announcing it as "great for med school apps" in their advertisements. ;)

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so basically you're asking for credit for something that most donors do selflessly and without recognition.

 

yea.. that speaks VOLUMES about your character...

 

Based on this argument, shouldn't he leave all his volunteer work off his application? He wouldn't want to seem like he is seeking recognition for activities that other people do selflessly.

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What you should be putting on your application is what makes you stand out. While the statistics on donations may be low, most people seem to consider it more of a yearly errand than an actual act of volunteerism. It seems desperate to put that on, and desperate looks bad.

 

As far as blood typing:

* Blood group AB individuals have both A and B antigens on the surface of their RBCs, and their blood serum does not contain any antibodies against either A or B antigen. Therefore, an individual with type AB blood can receive blood from any group (with AB being preferable), but can donate blood only to another type AB individual.

 

So yes, in terms of PLASMA donation AB is quite useful . In terms of donating BLOOD, not so much.

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If you think donating blood or plasma is important to the Canadian health care system, why don't you just volunteer with the CBS, help run clinics etc.

 

Seems like a more appropriate way to give back (in addition to donating), especially if you're looking to put it in your ABS. Plus since they probably know you well it should be easy to get a position.

 

My 148 cents

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If you think donating blood or plasma is important to the Canadian health care system, why don't you just volunteer with the CBS, help run clinics etc.

 

Seems like a more appropriate way to give back (in addition to donating), especially if you're looking to put it in your ABS. Plus since they probably know you well it should be easy to get a position.

 

My 148 cents

This is a great idea. There are plenty of different opportunities...you could do phone work, or travel to the different clinics they hold at schools and malls, or work at a permanent location. It's all about recruiting and making sure the donors feel appreciated...so that they'll come back. CBS needs all types of blood. Even though the news alerts may only mention a specific need for O+, a regular AB donor is still quite valuable. It doesn't matter what your motivation is for donating, even if it's just to make yourself feel good or pad an application, as long as you do it.

 

What gets me the most about this thread though, is that you can only donate every 2 months. So while giving the maximum of 6 times a year does technically make you a regular, is that really a committment on par with the rest of your ECs?

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What gets me the most about this thread though, is that you can only donate every 2 months. So while giving the maximum of 6 times a year does technically make you a regular, is that really a committment on par with the rest of your ECs?

 

Donating platelets takes ~2 hours, and I think you can donate every 14 days... so the time commitment becomes more substantial.

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Well said.

 

Also:

 

Imagine what you would say if, during an interview:

 

Interviewers asked "Tell me more about the fact that you donate blood."

 

Interviewee: "Well, I donate my rare AB (Rh-) blood on a very consistent basis. And by very consistent, I mean VERRRY."

 

Interviewer: "Anything else?"

 

Interviewee: "Ummm. *Yada yada about donating blood and its important*"

 

Interviewer: "Wow..."

 

So meaningful, isn't it. Do you honestly think the interviewer would be impressed by that? It is more likely to work against you than for you.

 

funny comment... theres about a .01% chance that interviewers are going to get pissed that he put regular blood donor and harass him like that in an interview.

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How to put it on your application.

 

Mention it in passing. Like how how you would say, you traveled to X country, fluent in X language, can play the piano, etc...

 

Don't put donating blood as your only volunteer role.

 

Yes, it does count. Donating blood is a good thing, it's selfless. It will NOT negatively influence your application. This is speaking from experience as someone who knows the admissions process.

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Most people in Canada "think it's a good idea" to donate blood. Yet only a fraction (approximately 1.5% or 1 in 60) actually will do it.

 

As AB neg, you are quite rare: only around 0.6% of Canadians are AB neg.

 

But you are the universal donor for plasma and platelets. You are incredibly important as a platelet donor for infants (who may not be able to receive their own blood group because of an incompatilibty with their mothers).

 

Congratutions and thank you for getting off your ass and doing what most people don't do (although everybody agrees it's a good idea). We need AB neg platelets in the hospital BADLY and we never have enough. (AB patients get out of group platelets because we can't get enough AB platelets collected for them).

 

So yes, you should definitely put blood donor on your application. Physicians - particularly anesthesia, peds, internal med, path and all surgeons) will appreciate your contribution (even if your competition on this website doesn't). This is particularly influential if you happen to be applying in an area with a lower-than-average donation rate e.g. Vancouver and Toronto.

 

And thanks again!

 

What do you feel is the reason a lot of people don't donate blood?

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What do you feel is the reason a lot of people don't donate blood?

 

I think a big reason is the extremely annoying screening process that takes up lots of time and makes you feel like they'd really rather not have you there. I mean, after being asked the likes of "have you ever had sex with a male who might have potentially traveled to East Africa before 1977 in a company of a one-legged lesbian" for half an hour, you start regretting going to the appointment in the first place.

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