New England trio rolls up their sleeves to save lives

By Charlie O’Halloran, Regional Red Cross Writer  

Every two seconds, someone in the United States needs blood. Every 15 seconds someone needs platelets. The American Red Cross is proud to provide approximately 40% of the nation’s blood and blood components. Every drop comes from volunteer donors. Their generosity allows the Red Cross to supply 2,5000 hospitals nationwide with blood for live saving transfusions. The need for volunteer donors is high, yet each year, only about 3% of eligible Americans give blood. Donating blood is a selfless act that makes an incredible difference. There are so many people in the Northern New England Region who are alive because someone made the choice to roll up a sleeve – people like cancer patients, trauma victims, women who experience challenging child births or those living with Sickle Cell. This story highlights three local donors, who share what donating means to them.

Natalie Johnston 

Natalie Johnston, of Hollis, New Hampshire, donated blood for the first time last December, and now, she donates as often as she can. Currently, she’s donating in Pennsylvania while she’s away at college but says she plans to continue donating when she is back home too. Her blood is making an impact across the map. With the Blood Donor App, she can see that her donations have been sent to hospitals and medical centers in different states. That’s because the Red Cross meets the local need first, but ultimately moves the blood to where it’s needed most. Over the years, she has seen family members and friends need transfusions, including her own mother, who needed a tumor removed.  Natalie thinks of donating as a way to be there for her loved ones and to help save strangers. 

“I want to help provide this opportunity for cherished family and friends in other people’s lives. A world with more donations means a world with less heartache,” she said.

While Natalie is passionate about saving the critically injured and ill, she has many other reasons for donating. 

“Donating gives you the opportunity to provide what our current knowledge and technology can’t viably create in a lab. It lets you meet and befriend people of multiple generations, each with their own unique and valuable life experiences. You can learn from them, they appreciate being listened to, and you can grow in confidence,” she said. 

To prepare for her donations, Natalie makes sure to get adequate sleep the night before, and she eats a big meal with lots of water. For the rest of her day, she will take on tasks that don’t require exercise, including her assignments and her pancreatic cancer research. It only takes her a day or two to get back into her more physical passions, like playing the bagpipes. At the core of her donations is her belief that what you do is an expression that who you are. To Natalie, donating blood is a way to express compassion and care. 

David Margolis-Pineo 

David Margolis-Pineo, of Portland, Maine, has been donating blood for over 40 years. When he was a college student, he went to a local blood drive with a simple desire to help others. This desire eventually turned into a mission: to donate his entire weight in blood! It’s safe to donate blood every eight weeks, which adds up to six to seven pints  a year. David got into the routine of donating as often as he was allowed. Although he achieved his original goal, he continues to donate every 56 days. Incredibly, he has donated over 26 gallons. 

David encourages everyone to donate blood as often as they can, because he says the good it does is worth it. Over the years as the donation process evolved, the Red Cross has been able to give donors more information about exactly where their donations are going. In some cases, donors can make a directed donation. That’s when a patient's family and friends donate blood for that loved one’s upcoming procedure. A patient must give consent and have his/her physician submit a written request for the Red Cross to collect blood from the selected donors. David donated a pint to his father-in-law to be used for his heart surgery. While David is in Maine and his father-in-law was in Connecticut, the Red Cross donation center was able to get his blood to the hospital in time. David still smiles at the thought of his father-in-law having his blood. 

Laura Gawel

Laura Gawel, of Franconia, New Hampshire, donates her blood for an especially meaningful reason. She saw her husband, Richard, get infusions of blood products after he was diagnosed with leukemia. After chemotherapy, his leukemia went into remission, but it ultimately returned a few months later. Unfortunately, Richard lost his battle with cancer, but the blood he received during treatment allowed him to live 10 months longer and return to a fully normal life. Laura is grateful to the blood donors and donors who gave her more precious time with her husband, and she thinks of donating as a way to pay them back.

Laura first donated blood at the beginning of this year, and like the other two donors, she now donates as often as she can. Many of her family members were already active Red Cross blood donors, and like them, she has been fully satisfied with the donation experience. 

“The folks involved are so helpful, caring, and appreciative,” she said. “It is almost painless as they are very careful, and it hardly takes any time at all.” 

After donating, Laura says she takes it easy and keeps an eye on her arm, but she doesn’t need to do any special recovery. She just makes sure to eat and drink something. She says it is particularly meaningful to learn who received her blood in the end. 

“Richard received red blood cells and platelets every time he needed them, no matter how often that was,” said Laura. “I feel like this is the least I can do to help others who find themselves in the same position. I will always be grateful for the time those infusions gave him.”

While these three donors have different reasons for giving, they share a common belief: if you can, you should. It’s a simple process and every one donation touches up to three lives. 

For more information on becoming a blood donor or to find a donation location near you, call 1-800-RED-CROSS or visit: redcrossblood.org.