[rightofrush]

They sell the blood, you know. The make hundreds of millions per year doing that. You'd be giving them $ despite your wishes.

Damn! - Thanks for the heads up.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

One suggestion (selfish, OK, I'll admit that) is to donate your own blood if you know you'll be facing surgery soon. Autologous donations, I think it's called.

I'm not sure if donating directly to a hospital is the answer, either, for helping out those in need. Maybe the hospital will mark up the cost and try to pass it along to the patient or the patient's insurance....