Thank you, American Red Cross Donators

I first gave blood when my high school ran a drive during my sophomore year. It wasn't until my junior year of high school did I fully comprehend the demand for blood donation. My mother's biopsy procedure went awry, and she coded on the operating table. The amount of blood they needed to save her was enormous. As I sat there in the intensive care unit holding my mother's hand after her emergency heart surgery, I reflected on what possibly I could do to help her. Then, I remembered the time I donated blood to the Red Cross. I would get letters in the mail that said I helped a child with leukemia, or a father with a urgent blood transfusion, but I never really comprehended what I was doing until in that moment. A person's decision to participate in a local blood drive gave me my Mom back. She was able to see me graduate high school, attend my senior prom, and send me away to college. Since then, I have donated blood five times and feel a fulfillment I do not get anywhere else.