SBC Stories connects blood donors and patients though storytelling, with new weekly articles on our blog, HemoBLOGin, featured patient stories and videos, and publications. Our patient stories inspire and move us to be of service the most vulnerable in our community, and our donor stories illustrate the many ways donors make a difference in patients’ lives every day.
Patient Stories (Read All)
Can You Help End Childhood Cancer?
Every year, 15,780 children in the United States are diagnosed with cancer. In fact, according to Children’s Cancer Research Fund, each day, 43 families in the United States will hear that their child has cancer. That’s why we observe September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month – to increase awareness for types of cancer that affect…
Celebrating Mothers Touched by Blood Donation
Mohan’s Story: “A Change of Heart”
Mr. Manmohan (Mohan) Mahal claims it has taken him over twenty years to understand his “journey.” It is because of this journey that he is now driven to give back to the world and inspire others. But first, he needed a change of heart. Born in Amritsar, India, Mohan lived most of his life in New Delhi and…
Donor Stories (Read All)
Diaries of a Platelet Donor
Why I Love to Roll Up My Sleeves
By Bruce Anderson, guest blogger When I first started giving blood, I was terrified of needles and syringes and would become light-headed at the mere suggestion of them. But I had grown up in a small town where the community blood drive made the front page of the local paper, which listed every donor and paid…
Two Strangers Bound Together By Be The Match
Justin joined the Be the Match registry approximately 13 years ago while attending the Stanford Medicine Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Reunion. His decision to join was a simple one, as cancer has been a significant theme in his life, and his choice that day led to Justin saving a life several years later. The Other…
HemoBLOGin — The Stanford Blood Center Blog (Read All)
Collecting Plasma on the ALYX Machine
Beginning January 8, we expanded our collections to include plasma products drawn on the ALYX machine. The ALYX machine is an apheresis machine that separates and collects various blood components and returns what we aren’t using to the donor — if you’ve done a double red blood cell (DRBC) donation, then you’ve donated through the…
What’s Up with Zika? What Have We Learned Over the Last Few Years and Where Are We Now?
Tracking the Epidemic In 2016, the world was in the midst of a Zika outbreak, with the largest occurring in 2016 in Brazil and Columbia. The graph below shows the distribution of Zika cases in Central America, the Caribbean, and South America from 2015–2017. Source: Data provided by countries and territories of the Americas and...
Donate Blood and Help Shelter Animals!
Everyone knows December is the season of giving, but the needs of our community extend past the holiday season. This January, you can help save patients and pets; January 1 – 31 donate blood and help shelter animals at Humane Society Silicon Valley. At Stanford Blood Center (SBC), we know how lucky we are to have…