Oh, so you're wondering how the Emergency Blood Drive Tweet-up went? -

Well, let me tell you. (Photo set here.)

After we put the call out on twitter the word spread like wildfire. It was short notice, and many people were out of town or stuck at home. But in the end, six intrepid do-gooders braved the snowy roads to literally give of themselves on Christmas Eve.

A few were first-time donors. Several hadn’t given blood in years. It was great to see such renewed motivation and camaraderie between people who – in most cases – only knew each other online.

The atmosphere was especially cheery – nurses and donors spontaneously bursting into choruses of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty The Snowman. (I got this on video, but the clip refuses to upload. Argh… technology.)

In the end we had finished off a whole tin of cookies, downed half a dozen cups of hot cocoa, and donated as many pints of blood – potentially helping to save 18 lives. Not bad for one fun afternoon.