Digital Donor

Whether your blood runs maroon or burnt orange, in a couple of weeks it’ll be that time again to help your team save lives in the annual Colors of Commitment Blood Drive Challenge.

The long-time rivalry between the two oldest public universities in the state of Texas, University of Texas Longhorns and the Texas A&MAggies, has been seen on the football field for years. So long ago, that many students today probably couldn’t tell you how it all came about.

Photo Courtesy: Steve Wilke

But, every Thanksgiving Day (or Thanksgiving weekend), the Aggies and the Longhorns sit back to root on their team during the Lone Star Showdown. The game gets fierce and the fans gets rowdy, but that’s what Texas college football is all about.

Last year, the Longhorns won convincingly, but the same could not be said for their efforts to help save lives.

The Colors of Commitment is a challenge today, but when it started almost a decade ago, the blood drive event was a way to give back. In 1999, in preparation for the big game, the Aggies held their traditional pep rally and bonfire. That year, a long-standing turned into a tragic event and 12 students lost their lives.

The tight knit A&M student body rallied around and decided they would honor their fellow classmates by hosting an annual blood drive event. Little did they know, years later Longhorns would roll up their sleeves to join the cause.

With Longhorns and Aggies active in the drive, it only made sense to build a friendly competition known as the Colors of Commitment Blood Drive Challenge.

Since 2006, the Aggies have brought in significantly more donors. But 2009, is a new year and anything could happen.

   
    Aggies: 
    2008 – 2,025 lives saved.
    2007 – 1,698 lives saved.
    2006 – 1,116 lives saved.

   Longhorns:
   2008 – 1,005 lives saved.
   2007 – 462 lives saved. 
   2006 – 456 lives saved.         

Starting November 18 through November 22, whether you’re a Longhorn or Aggie or just a supporter of one of the two, you can come in and credit your group (Texas group code: UTEX and A&M group code: 1234). Each will receive a limited edition t-shirt and enter for a chance to win tickets to the Thanksgiving Day game in College Station.

A devoted Longhorn myself, I must admit I will be rooting for my fellow Longhorn life-savers. But when it comes to saving lives – everyone wins, especially the patients whose lives were saved!

Who will you be rooting for?

At The Blood Center, we are always talking about the ways generous individuals help save the lives of complete strangers. This month we celebrate a very special kind of giving – bone marrow donation, as November is National Marrow Awareness Month.

So we’re sharing this letter written by a recent marrow donor. If you haven’t joined the Be the Match Registry, maybe this letter will inspire you to register.

Letter from a Marrow Donor
by Nikhil Gheewala

I have been happy to be a regular blood donor for a few years, and thanks to Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center and the National Marrow Donor Registry, I also have had the privilege of taking part in a marrow donation. I have been told people have spent their whole lives on the registry without being called. I was given the opportunity only a few months after I joined the registry!

I got a call from Martha, the coordinator at The Blood Center, explaining that a boy with leukemia needed a marrow donation, and my initial screening suggested I could be a match. I agreed to go forward in the process and came in to The Blood Center, so Martha could explain the process, and so I could provide a blood sample to see how closely my blood matched the recipient’s. After a few weeks, Martha called again. My blood wasn’t perfect, but it was a good match, and we needed to schedule the donation.

I underwent a peripheral blood stem cell donation, which is different from the traditional process I had known of. Instead of having doctors insert a needle into my hip to extract blood cells, I could just sit in a chair for a few hours, just like an apheresis blood donation. The key to this process was a drug called Filgrastim, the same type of drug often given to marrow recipients! Filgrastim encouraged my marrow’s stem cells to replicate and to move out of my marrow into my bloodstream, where it could be collected through apheresis. Martha and I discussed some very rare side affects and I decided I wanted to go through with the donation. To protect his privacy, I didn’t know much about the boy with leukemia, but I knew that if I could help give him the chance to be healthy, it was worth the small risk.

How the Donation Process Worked

For four days preceding the donation, I went to the The Blood Center to receive injections of Filgrastim and give small blood samples to track my white blood cell count. It took about 5 to 10 minutes each day on my way to work. On the day of the donation, I met Martha at a nearby hospital. I had been to the hospital a couple of weeks earlier to meet the doctors overseeing the donation and fill out paperwork. Once I received my last injection and everything was set, I sat in the donation chair with tubes connected to both my arms.

From there on out, all I had to do was sit. Blood was pulled from my left arm, processed by the collection machine and returned to my right arm. To me, it was just like an apheresis donation, but with two arms instead of one. Every once in a while, I would ask for something to eat or drink, or for a TUMS to keep my blood calcium levels up. The donation process took longer than expected — 7 hours instead of 4 — so I got to watch Rice play in the College World Series on the TV attached to my chair. To be truthful, their loss to LSU was more painful than the donation.

At the end of the donation, I got bandages on both my arms, and after resting for a little while, I was on my way home. Meanwhile, Martha was on her way with my donation. I didn’t know it at the time, but my stem cells were going to Hungary! Some time after the donation, Martha informed me that the donation was a success and the little boy was living happily in Budapest. It’s such a wonderful feeling to know I was able to help a stranger defeat a horrible disease. If I ever have the chance, I will definitely do it again.

Photos are one of the best ways to tell a story.

Friends in Seconds: East End Chamber members speed network at Gulfgate Neighborhood Donor Center

See what I mean?

If you’re a donor or blood drive chairperson, you probably have photos waiting to be shared. Tell your blood drive story by uploading your event photos to our group photo-sharing page on Flickr.

View this quick 2-minute screencast to learn how.

It’s simple and fast to create a free accounton Flickr. After doing so, add your blood drive photos to your personal Flickr page. Then go to the Commit for Life group page. Click “Join this group” to become a member. Then click “Add photos.” Flickr will pull the photos from your personal Flickr page. Pick the ones you would like displayed on the CFL group page.

And there you go! Your own Commit for Life photo story should appear alongside those of other life-savers.

Questions? Just ask here in the comments section.

P.S. The Commit for Life group photo-sharing page is open for anyone (like you!) to share their photos. This is different from the The Blood Center’s own Flickr photo page where you can view photos taken by us as we visit different blood drives and other events.

The President of the United States celebrated it a few days ago.  We held a special event in honor of it on Wednesday. What am I talking about? 

¿Pues, que mas – well, what else? Hispanic Heritage Month. 

From September 15 to October 15, the nation recognized the rich culture and contributions of the Hispanic community. We at The Blood Center wanted to do the same and educate our fellow Blood Center peers at the same time.

With pan dulce (Mexican sweet bread), festive music and an audience ready to learn, we welcomed our special guest panel who would lead a discussion on diversity.

Henry de la Garza of de la Garza Public Relations, Daniel Velasco of the Houston Texas, Ben Mendez of the National Hispanic Professionals Organization and James Corona of Houston Community College  Southeast each came with a unique perspective, each ready to help The Blood Center in its efforts to help save lives.

With over two-thirds of the Hispanic community under the age of 30, each panelists pointed to the great potential we have to engage with our Hispanic community today to ensure they continue to be blood donors tomorrow. But it won’t happen over night and it will all start with one idea – relationship building.

Henry de la Garza, de la Garza Public Relations

“We have a largely fresh populace going on here. This is a young community that is very tuned into social media. What better way to build these relationships and engage than through conversations.”

Daniel Velasco, Houston Texans

“Figure out what is important to that community. Focus on one segment at least for a year. The Hispanic community is based on the trust factor, but you must first build that trust.”

Ben Mendez, National Hispanic Professionals Organization

“ You partake in the groups that are involved in the Hispanic community. When people see you’re involved, they’ll take you as more credible. One shot hit and miss will not work. You need to build that relationship.”

James Corona, Houston Community College

 ”It comes down to the simple things if you want to effectively reach any culture. Treating people the way you’d like to be treated. Understanding that person’s culture. Once you understand that, you’ll be able to communicate and get your message across.”  

The idea of relationships is nothing foreign to The Blood Center. We created Commit for Life to build a relationship with our donors by inviting them to come in and donate once a quarter.

These journalists in training at Chavez High  School cover a story on their very successful blood drive for their campus TV station L4TV. The drive held Tuesday, October 13 brought in 194 blood donors, which helped save over 500 lives!

The highly diverse student body at Chavez continue to help The Blood Center in its diversity recruitment efforts. More than 90 percent of those who donated where of a diverse ethnicity.