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Kansas Couple Completes Blood Donation Journey
Written by
Lesly Simmons
, Staff Writer, RedCross.org
Thursday, August 04, 2005 — James and Linda Parker completed their nationwide quest to donate blood in every American Red Cross region on Aug. 3, when they made their last donation of the journey in Baltimore.
Since March 2004, the Parkers have driven across the United States and made a blood donation in each of the 36 blood services regions that make up the Red Cross network.
The couple gives platelets, which can be done every two weeks, versus whole blood donations which can only be done every 56 days. So far Jim has given 20 gallons, and Linda is up to 11 gallons.
“This concept is so inspirational,” said Tracy Laubach, Director of Communications and Marketing for the Greater Chesapeake and Potomac Region, where the Parkers made their final donation of the trip. “This is the kind of thing that can have such a huge impact.”
The Parkers have been in a continuous loop for the past 18th months, driving to their latest destination, returning home to McPherson, KS to relax and prepare for the next trip. All told, they will have traveled 78,427 miles to accomplish their goal.
“Their situation is so unique because they had the time and the resources to do this, but as they say if they can give across the country, there is no reason why someone can’t give across town,” said Laubach. “They delivered that message here in Baltimore today, but they have been doing the same thing across the country since last March.”
“This has been so great, but now it’s like the end of school but instead of 9 months we were at it for 18,” said Jim. Now we are going to try and figure out what to do with our summer! I’m happy to see it come to a conclusion.”
“The people in each of the regions have been so wonderful,” said Linda “I always tell people if you want a new best friend, go give blood, because the staff takes such good care of you every time you go in.”
The Parker’s central motivation for the trip is simple—to educate the public about the importance of blood donations.
“Especially young people,” said Jim. “Older people 45 and up are the ones who give the most, so we need to get the younger generation more involved. We just want people to ask themselves two questions: if not me, then who, and if not now, then when?”
Beyond the experience of donating blood, the trip also gave Jim and Linda a chance to visit the whole country.
“This has been great because as a former history teacher, I knew about a lot of places, but I was not well traveled,” said Jim. “We’ve seen the fall foliage in New England; we were in Alabama as the Red Cross was preparing for Hurricane Dennis in July. It’s all been exciting.”
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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