My brother and I regularly give blood through the Virginia Blood Service. He comes down from Maryland and we go out to breakfast or lunch and then head over to the center. He donates platelets, plasma, and/or red blood cells. I donate whole blood since I can no longer get the returns on the automated. I had breast cancer in 1991 and cannot have blood drawn from my right arm. I have a lot of scar tissue in my left arm after 19 years of it being the only arm able to be stuck. Our Dad has got lymphoma and has received numerous transfusions over the years and, even though he’s in New Jersey and we know our blood won’t help him from here, we not only enjoy putting it back in the system, but the feeling of being able to save a life is incredible.
Thanks for reading,
Lisa