by Michelle Limpe

For many volunteers like Katie Mahon, donating blood is an easy and impactful way to make a difference in others’ lives. But for Katie, her donations also serve a deeper purpose: honoring and commemorating her late brother, Kevin.

Giving blood has been a constant part of Katie’s life since her brother passed away at the young age of 12 from cancer.

“When I was a kid, my parents adopted my cousin. He was like a little brother to me, so I always called him that. For me, calling him brother makes more sense because he was closer than a cousin. He was just like one of us right away,” she said. “He had a pretty rough life before he came to live with my family and had spent a lot of time in the hospital.”

While Kevin was sick, Katie saw how donating blood became a routine part of her family’s life. Her mother would donate blood every two weeks, and Katie herself began donating blood as soon as she was old enough at 16 years old.

Katie’s family turned their grief over Kevin’s death into a source of strength and goodness by choosing to take action in honor of him.

At Kevin’s funeral, Katie’s father urged their friends and family to donate blood, highlighting that Kevin got to live for as long as he could due to the generosity of other blood donors. She recalled how her father described the experience of donating blood during his eulogy.

“He said it felt about as painful as getting a haircut. It’s less painful than that,” she said. “As soon as my family started donating, I remember thinking ‘Okay, this is just part of my life now.’ They were donating while Kevin was sick after they learned how important it was.”

Even after Kevin’s death, Katie’s family continued the call for blood donations throughout her adolescence. They would host blood drives and organize blood drive trucks to come to their community in honor of Kevin.

Katie detailed that her family would even receive cards in the mail from people saying they donated blood in honor of her family.

“I knew they had to be doing it in relation to Kevin, and they understood how important it was,” she said. “I remember there was a woman who was the grandmother of one of Kevin’s best friends who donated for a long time. It became a very regular part of her life. My dad was able to convey that people did really take it to heart.”

Up to this day, her mother has kept all of the cards.

Based in Danville, California, Katie continues her advocacy to donate blood today and shares it with her three children.“They are young, but they know when I’m going to donate blood because I’ll have to miss some time,” she said. “They often like to look at my arm and ask, ‘Did it hurt?”

Emphasizing the importance of donating blood to her children is one of the many ways that Katie lives out her mission as an American Red Cross volunteer!

She has donated countless hours of her time and effort to provide for others in need.

She recognizes that there are some misconceptions and barriers that others weigh before deciding to donate blood. However, to her, the decision always came easily.

“To me, donating is a no brainer. It’s just maybe 45 minutes out of your every two months,” she said. “My husband is terrified of needles but for someone like me who is not bothered at all, it seems like a pretty easy way to save someone’s life. It’s worth it.”

She also called out the fact that she still donates blood regularly despite having tattoos, which is something that others inaccurately believe precludes them from donating.

One of the ways that Katie recommends for new blood donors to get comfortable with the process of donating is to turn it into an activity with friends.

“My friends and I will donate together so that instead of going to get a glass of wine, we’ll just go and sit next to each other and talk. You could spend $15 on a glass of wine or do this,” she said. “One of my girlfriends, Sarah, did not like needles, but I would always talk about donating blood. We both work for a nonprofit that works with kids with cancer, so she eventually realized the reward outweighs the pain.”

She noted that there are various options for donating blood, with some less frequently than others. One of which is the Power Red Donation, where you donate two units of blood up to 3 times a year. Comparatively, Whole Blood donation can be done up to 6 times a year.

Now, more than ever, it’s even easier to make an appointment using the American Red Cross’ Blood Donor app, which is something that Katie particularly highlighted.

“Everything is just getting easier and easier about donation,” she said. “I love how you can track blood donations in the new app.”

Through her actions, Katie exemplifies the heart of an American Red Cross volunteer, constantly striving to raise awareness of the importance and impact of donating blood.

“It’s fortunately something that people don’t have to think about very often unless they’ve been confronted with needing blood or know someone that needs blood,” she said. “Talking about donating blood and sharing it on social media and bragging about yourself may feel funny, but it’s worth it to remind people.”

Every time Katie donates blood, she continues to honor her brother, Kevin, and shares some of his light in everyone’s life she touches through her story and advocacy.

You, too, can continue to honor Kevin and countless other lives by visiting redcrossblood.org to make a donation appoint to make a lasting impact!