I have one of those blood types that seems to be fairly rare, and I've been inclined to try to give when I find out that it's in particularly short supply. At this point, I've been cancer-free for nearly 17 years, and I know that if I pass the initial Red Cross screenings to give it, they do further testing beyond that point to see if they find any other problems with it. As I look around at many of the people I know in my age group (mid-50's), I seem to be as healthy as most of them -- if not more so -- so I don't feel guilty if I pass the up-front screening process and they have my blood to work with and see if it's worth using. In light of all the things that can disqualify people these days (such as travel to countries where mad cow might exist, family health histories, etc.), there are fewer and fewer people who are eligible to donate blood at all, so the supply is not really plentiful for all types all the time.

Cathy