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Red Cross Honors Lifelong Volunteer Blood Donor
Written by
Katie Lawson
, Staff Writer, Redcross.org
Friday, April 07, 2006 — For most of his life, Donald Tillson has donated blood to the American Red Cross. This year Tillson reached a milestone when his lifelong donations totaled a whopping 39 gallons. His remarkable accomplishment spans more than 56 years of donating blood for transfusion and for use in research studies by Red Cross at the Holland Laboratory.
On Feb. 28, 2006, volunteer blood donor Donald Tillson of Rockville, Md., was presented with an American
Red Cross pin for donating 39 gallons of blood over
the last 56 years of his life.
(Photo Credit: American Red Cross)
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Tillson, a native of Rockville, Md., made a lifelong commitment to donating blood beginning on July 20, 1950, after two of his children needed blood transfusions shortly after birth. Throughout the years, he has donated whole blood as well as every type of apheresis donation including platelet and plasma as well as red and white blood cells.
In the early years, Tillson donated blood at the Red Cross Donor Center at E Street, N.W., in Washington, D.C., and later at their Silver Spring Donor Center. When the donor center moved to its current location on Parklawn Drive in Rockville, Tillson was the guest speaker at its grand opening.
When asked why he continues to donate blood, he quipped, “It’s no problem—I make it myself!”
Tillson recommends becoming a blood donor to everyone because not enough people regularly donate blood. While approximately 60 percent of the U.S. population is eligible to give blood, only 5 percent donate each year. The donation process takes just about an hour, and donors are eligible to give every 56 days.
He hopes to increase awareness of the vital role volunteer blood donors have in supporting the community blood supply. His example of service to others has become a family affair as his youngest daughter is also a committed, regular blood donor.
Three years ago, The Guinness Book of Records informed Tillson that he held the second place standing of the longest continuous blood donor in the world. He missed first place by a mere seven days to a donor in North Carolina.
The American Red Cross is extremely grateful to Donald Tillson for his lifelong dedication to donating blood.
For more information about blood donations, visit www.givelife.org or call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE to find a local blood drive or to schedule a donation at a blood center near you.
Donors deferred from transfusion donation may be eligible to give blood for research. The American Red Cross Research Blood Program at the Holland Laboratory in Rockville is recruiting volunteer blood donors who are healthy, at least 18 years old and 110+ lbs. Blood donations will be used specifically for research, not for transfusion. For information about research blood donation, please call 301-738-0668 or toll free 1-888-817-4483.
The American Red Cross provides nearly half of the nation's blood supply (collecting more than 6 million units a year from volunteer donors) to patients in 3,000 hospitals across the country through its national network. Every two seconds, someone in America needs blood. The Red Cross must collect blood donations each and every day to meet the needs of accident victims, cancer patients and children with blood disorders, and the organization works to accomplish this through its 36 Blood Services regions. Please call today to make your appointment to give the gift of life. Call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE to schedule your donation or to sponsor a blood drive.
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