I haven't donated in a long time. Should do it again. Oddly enough, I think certain religions need to move with the time. If they accept vaccinations and antibiotics they can accept blood when it is needed. A very good friend of mine was hit on his bike. (Lycra argument and whether he deserved it argument for another day). When I say hit he was cleaned up by a speeding car being driven by someone without a license. His riding companions estimated he went 2m in the air and was flung 30-40m. His parents arrived at the hospital just in time to stop him receiving a blood donation that would have greatly improved his chances. What yanks my chain was that he didn't follow his families religious beliefs. But when a dude is laying on a bed with his head cracked, face partly missing and back broken, he can't really communicate that with the medical team. We are incredibly lucky that he survived given that he was given no blood.