Saving a life often involves being the right person in the right place at the right time. Being the right person may simply require getting the right training or putting your name on a list. Keep reading to find out 7 ways you could save a life.
7 ways to become a life saver
CPR & AED Certification
American Heart Association & American Red Cross
High-quality CPR is essential for increasing a cardiac arrest victim’s chance of survival. You could be the only help available until an AED or ambulance arrives.
Be on the lookout for AEDs. Note where they are when you are in a building you frequent and keep your training up so you know how to use them.
CPR works. The success rate is not high, but it increases drastically when a member of the public will step up and begin the process before professionals arrive. I’ve been on several “code saves”, as we call them, both as a volunteer firefighter and a nurse. Some of the code saves only provided a few extra hours, enough time for family to arrive and say goodbye. Others, to the best of my knowledge, are still alive and well to this day.
Organ Donation
Sure, the topic is uncomfortable to talk about, but all of us are going to die. Placing all your organs in a shiny box won’t do anyone any good. However, one person’s organ donations have the potential to save 8 lives and impact up to 75 more by increasing their quality of life.
Having the discussion now allows your family the peace of knowing what you would want to be done if something were to happen to you. A representative would contact the family to discuss the options before they decide to do anything.
Bone Marrow Donation
Wait! Before you skip ahead, hear me out.
Did you know over 80 percent of bone marrow donations are non-surgical and done through a special blood donation? They can take your blood, filter out blood-forming cells (peripheral blood stem cells) and then return the rest of the blood right back to you.
Becoming a registered bone marrow donor is simple. Sign up online, get your cheek swab in the mail and send it back! It’s that simple! Donating bone marrow is another great way to help others in critical need!
They matched me to a patient within a year of being on the list. I never expected to be called, but I was! They ultimately went ahead with another donor, but I’m glad to be on the list to help someone.
Tourniquet Application
Uncontrolled bleeding can cause death in minutes. Properly applying a tourniquet will stop all blood flow in the affected extremity. The goal of a tourniquet is to cut off all circulation above the injury to stop blood loss from the injury.
Keeping the blood in gives you more time to get them to the ER, where additional life-saving measures can be provided.
Blood Donor
Wow! We’ve been focusing a lot on blood. It’s like it’s important or something.
Quick facts:
- The United States needs 36,000 units of red blood cells every day.
- Every 2 seconds, someone in the US needs blood or platelets.
- 1 in 7 patients admitted to the hospital will need blood during their stay.
- Donating blood can be a huge blessing to many people. Besides, the snacks are normally fantastic!
Narcan
Annual deaths from overdosing in the United States topped 100,000 for the first time in 2020/2021.
Narcan is the reversal agent for opioids/narcotics. It is available without a prescription and can be given by anyone who knows how to use the simple nasal spray device (rules vary by state). It is safe to give even if you only suspect the individual has overdosed. For our full article on Narcan, see HERE.
Volunteer
People need help for hundreds of different reasons. You can volunteer for disaster relief, CERT, your local volunteer fire department, or any other number of worthy endeavors. They’ll be glad to have your skills and teach you many more along the way.
Conclusion
Saving a life can be as simple as showing up. Other times, saving a life requires a little extra training. You could complete most of the requirements and training for everything mentioned in around 10-12 hours.
Having the skills or willingness to help others is commendable. Thank you to those who have already taken the time to learn a skill and those already out there saving lives!
To those who haven’t, why wait? The steps you take today could not just have an impact, but could save a life. From trauma victims to cancer patients, the opportunity is yours to take.
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