Why I Donate
I’m afraid of needles. I was the kid who had to be pinned down any time my pediatrician gave me a shot. I never considered donating blood and now I can’t imagine ever not doing it. I’ve been both a recipient and a donor. In 2011 and 2012, I had two periacetabular osteotomies at Stanford Hospital to correct congenital hip dysplasia, an issue that was dormant until it suddenly rapidly started causing arthritis on the top of both femoral heads. For both surgeries I needed two pints of blood in the OR in case of excessive bleeding. My dad and friends donated blood for both surgeries. While I didn’t need it in the OR, I did need those priceless pints when I developed severe anemia after both surgeries. The transformation of how I felt after receiving both pints was miraculous. I’m grateful for my donors as nothing else my doctors tried was working!
My dad became a recipient after being diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome. He was at Stanford Hospital every week being tested and receiving transfusions from other donors. We could both say that we were recipients and donors!
During my two years of being a frequent flyer at Stanford Hospital, my Uncle Bill was diagnosed with leukemia at a routine annual physical. Uncle Bill was my dad’s little brother who I shared a “younger sibling complex” with. I was shocked at his diagnosis and wanted to help. On March 31, 2013, exactly one year to the day of my second surgery, I registered for the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP). My dad wasn’t an ideal match for my uncle so I wouldn’t have been either.
In 2015, I became an advocate for helping blood cancer patients. I had started open water swimming in the ocean and San Francisco Bay (sans wetsuit) when friends and I did a Catalina Channel relay to raise funds for cancer research at City of Hope in Los Angeles. I swam in memory of David Yudovin, a dear friend in our community and a leukemia survivor who died of a heart attack. He was a staunch supporter of the City of Hope’s cancer center where he’d received his cancer treatment. It was heartbreaking as we all wrote names on our arms of everyone we knew and loved who had died from cancer. Mine went down almost my entire arm.
During a mobile blood drive at work, I decided to face my fear of needles for a greater cause. Having received four pints of blood after my surgeries, I understood the importance of donating. I had been working on getting comfortable with the uncomfortable and it was time to be brave, march into that bloodmobile, and… not cry. I got a cute dog chew toy in the shape of a taco to squeeze which helped distract me. I was surprised that donating an entire pint of blood only took less than 10 minutes! I was proud of myself for having survived! I also took the opportunity that day to notify my entire department about the NMDP and recruited several more folks to register.
Later I took up road cycling and started wondering how I could use my love of cycling to help leukemia patients. Lo and behold, Blood Cancer United (formerly the 
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, or LLS) helps organize America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride (AMBBR), a 100-mile ride in Lake Tahoe. I raised over $6,000 for Blood Cancer United with their charity ride. Around this time, I started thinking about donating blood again. I learned about Stanford Blood Center (SBC), and the Hillview Avenue location in Palo Alto was perfect between my office in Campbell and home in San Bruno. I also learned that SBC had a very attractive cycling jersey with their logo on it. I started donating platelets on a weekly basis which meant that I’d earn that gorgeous jersey quickly! Today, I have four of my own and have gifted three more.
My Uncle Bill was extremely proud of me and was the first to donate $500 to both my charity ride and swim that year. We ended up sharing cycling together as it was the only time his feet didn’t hurt him. He said otherwise it felt like his feet were on pins and needles all the time. He had received his bone marrow transplant and had been in remission when his leukemia came back with a vengeance. This time his health deteriorated rapidly and he passed away in October 2015. My quest continues though, and now my Aunt Sue, his widow, is the first to donate ($500 still!) to any of my charity events to raise money for cancer research and treatment.
During my regular visits to SBC, I usually donate platelets or plasma. They asked that I focus on those donations because there is a greater need for them—they have a shorter shelf life and fewer donors. I rarely donate whole blood and the last time I did was by accident. I showed up on a day I wasn’t actually scheduled to donate. Since I was there anyway, they asked if I would donate whole blood as I was a match for a patient at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. Of course I agreed! I was shocked when I heard them call the hospital to inform them that a match just happened to walk in and they were sending my pint over right away! I felt great that I was at the right place at the right time for that child.
Donating is just part of my regular routine and I don’t think I’m doing anything that special. I donate because, as my friend Gale Beach used to say, “it’s the right thing to do!” I’m always happy to share my story. I was at Inman Family Wines in Santa Rosa years ago explaining to a friend why I donate. Unbeknownst to me, another customer was listening intently. He introduced himself to me after and said that he is only alive today because of people like me. He had had a rare form of cancer and needed over 80 platelet infusions. Despite my protests, he insisted on buying me a bottle of wine as a “thank-you gift on behalf of cancer patients everywhere.” WOW! I drank that bottle on a special occasion and kept the empty bottle as a memento of that powerful encounter.
I’m committed to donating at SBC for as long as I can. Over the years I’ve gotten to know several of the wonderful staff members and light up when I see them. Going to SBC has become partially social for me as I look forward to every appointment. You don’t know whose life you are saving, but it could very well be a friend, or a stranger next to you at a winery. For me, donating at SBC costs nothing more than time and has a much higher direct impact to patients, whether for cancer treatments or something else, than just giving money.