"It's a lifelong commitment."
"I started back in high school, I'm a nurse and one of the neighbors, Mrs. Ruth Knorr, encouraged me to start giving blood. So I started in high school and at that time the blood drive was in a church basement, and they made us hot tuna dish, and we had supper there. It was quite a little community gathering at the church basement.
You know it became a habit and so that everywhere I went, I've lived a lot of different places, and the first thing I do is look for the public library and find a place to give blood. And so that's just been a part of my life.
Just have always been in good health and able to donate blood, and some of my friends give blood, so we would go together, and it was always just something to do to be a part of the community.
A long time ago when I worked for the city of Milwaukee we could go on work time, so at the end of the day a lot of us, the firefighters, police officers, and public health people, would be there giving blood. So it was really kind of a get together.
Someone in your family will need blood. Either yourself, your parents, your grandparents, your kids, your nieces and nephews, and there's no other place you get blood except through blood donations. So I would say it's a constant need and it's easy to do and you can feel good about it."
We love to hear stories of blood donations supported by whole communities. The commitment to keeping the blood supply at healthy levels is something that everyone can be thankful for, because you never know when you, or someone close to you, may need vital blood products.
It may seem daunting, to commit to donating blood, but it's one of the most rewarding things a person can do to support their community and local hospitals. Sign up today, and after just one visit you will feel that contribution to everyone.