"It really didn't hurt!"

This is the expression I hear from people who donate blood for the first time. And I heard it today from a few who were with me at the Nazarene church during a Blood Drive that saw me donate my 100th pint. It was just an ordinary donation for me, with the exception of a few photos for the local paper and an accompanying article, receiving a nice gift of a nylon bag that can hold anything from IPods to pens and books, and a certificate from the local Blood Drive organizers.

Drip, Drip, Drip - one drip at a time makes one pint.

My phlebotomist Sydney appeared nervous, although she seemed to have been waiting for me when I arrived. Apparently she wanted to draw the 100th pint from my arm, and stayed with me from beginning to the end. All the phlebotomists are nice people and they look forward to more donors, especially when I encourage others donors to show, as they did on Monday and Tuesday.

You get to meet many people, familiar faces and new faces from our town, and we form a brotherhood or sisterhood of donors who have one incentive in their mind, to help save a life. Knowing that the blood is used almost immediately, you feel good that someone whom you don’t know is living because you gave something special, be it a Mormon from Utah, a newborn baby from Oklahoma, a Mexican from Arizona, or even an Oregonian from Baker City.

Being presented by a certificate and a carry-all bag

Today for example, I met a local teacher who donated her first pint, Teresa Sullivan, as well as her parents who are perpetual blood donors. I was honored to give blood at the same time with Teresa, her first and my 100th. I told her that one she’ll catch up with me. Another parishioner from Halfway, Karen Endersby started giving today after having received some chemo-therapy 12 years ago. Another local woman Sylvia Bowers donated after having a break of 20 years to give birth to 4 children, including twin girls, a teenage boy and our pool lifeguard Charlotte, a Boise State student who also donated. The mother-daughter combination of Michele and Darryn McCauley also donated blood together, Michele being a High School teacher and Darryn heading for college in a few weeks.

Thank you one and all. I signed up for my 101st donation, which incidentally will be on my 60th birthday, August 27th.