Honoring Jaime Eredia and His Years of Service as a Blood Drive Coordinator
Since 2007, Jaime Eredia has been the driving force behind the Stanford School of Engineering’s blood drives by organizing and promoting them, and often rolling up his own sleeve to donate. But as Jaime prepares to retire from his role as the blood drive coordinator, he leaves a lasting impact on the lives of countless patients in the community.
Jaime first got involved when Elisa Manzanares, a blood drive account representative from Stanford Blood Center, came looking for a space to hold a blood drive on campus. He offered to help and, from there, took on the role of the drive coordinator that would continue for nearly two decades. The drive was consistently held three to four times a year. “I always wanted to make sure we had the next opportunity set up,” Jaime said. “As soon as one was finished, I’d be pushing to get started again, scheduling the next one for 56 days later!” Through his enthusiasm, he built a strong donor community. “It became a popular thing and people would often ask when the next drive was happening,” he remembers.
In addition to organizing the blood drives, Jaime donated at nearly each one of them. He’s now given over 70 times, with his sights set on reaching 100 donations. “It’s been a joy to do, and I’m going to miss organizing the drives,” he shared. “But I’m still going to donate. This isn’t going to stop me.”
Blood donation has become more than just an act of service for Jaime. He has a friendly competition with a friend to see who can donate a unit of blood the
fastest, with his personal best standing at 4 minutes, 37 seconds! In addition, he and his niece have made it a tradition of meeting for lunch then donating blood together every few months. A time he cherishes, as it’s one of their few chances to catch up amid busy schedules.
Jaime is already working to pass the torch, helping a colleague take over the blood drives to keep the tradition going. And even though Jaime is retiring from Stanford, he plans to continue helping by working with clubs and organizations he’s involved with to set up drives.
At Jaime’s recent retirement party, Elisa surprised him with a glass blood drop award to honor his years of dedication. Elisa reflects, “Jaime has been at the heart of this vital program. Whether it was rallying donors, organizing events, or simply offering encouragement to those around him, his leadership has been nothing short of inspiring.”
In its 18 years, the drives have collected 1,261 units of blood, impacting over 3,500 patients in the community. Thank you, Jaime, for your dedication, leadership, and generosity. Your influence will be felt for years to come!