A Gift From The Heart!

When I dressed this morning, I grabbed a printed T-shirt from the shelf. After I pulled it on, I stepped in front of a mirror to read the message it conveyed. Turns out it was from United Blood Services, and I remembered it as a gift for some landmark number of blood donations.

I started donating blood in 1964 when I was a Red Cross volunteer. Being heavily involved in promoting Red Cross bloodmobiles, I was usually first in line for each of their visits. In appreciation, the Red Cross informed me that I had been granted lifetime eligibility - whatever that meant.

In 1970, I returned to Kansas City and became a blood donor at the Community Blood Center. A friend of my wife belonged to some woman's organization and I learned that her organization would be credited if I donated blood in their behalf. I don't think I ever knew what their credit would be, but I wanted them to earn maximum benefit. I donated as often as permitted - every six weeks, I think. The Center used to mail reminders and I complied when possible. When the HIV/Aids scare erupted, I once went in for a donation and they asked if I had recently had sex with another man. That made me angry and I quit donating for a short time. Then someone told me they were required by law, or some regulation, to ask, so I relented and resumed donations.

In 1992 I moved to Phoenix and began donating blood at United Blood Services. In 1994, I moved to New Mexico, also served by U.B.S., and continued donations.

One day, while on a lounge donating blood, a nervous young college girl was brought to a lounge near mine for her first donation. In an effort to reassure her, I struck up a conversation. She asked how many times I had given blood. I told her it was some gallons, but I did not know how many.

That aroused my curiosity and I decided to see if I could learn how many pints of blood I had donated. I called the American Red Cross Blood Center in Wichita, Kansas - the people who had operated the bloodmobiles in Salina in the 1960s. They regretted they had no records of blood donations from that long ago. (Oops... I guess they also have no record of my "lifetime eligibility"). Next I called the Community Blood Center in Kansas City. Same result. No records from that period!

United Blood Service credits me with 50 donations - which would take about seven years. Since I did donate at U.B.S. for longer than that, I suppose it is possible. In reality, I am where I was during that conversation with the college girl. I do not know how many times I have donated blood.

Shortly before my 75th birthday I was refused as a donor because I was anemic! Wow, that had never happened. My doctor did some tests, agreed I was anemic and suggested I should no longer donate blood. I didn't like that, but was told they cut off donating at age 75 anyway. My nearly 40 years of donating blood were over.

During the time I promoted blood donations over the radio, I said, "Someone, somewhere, has experienced a severe accident or illness or is about to undergo surgery. Your gift of blood could save their life." I believed it then. I believe it today.

Donating blood is, truly, a gift from the heart!