By Kristiene Gong, American Red Cross volunteer

The San Diego Seals lacrosse team and American Red Cross recently joined forces to hold a blood donation event at Pechanga Arena in San Diego. The event took place from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and was attended by new blood donors as well as many veteran donors. The Seals hosted a booth at the entrance with giveaways to thank everyone who made an appointment to roll up a sleeve and donate.

When asked about their reasons for donating blood, multiple donors shared that donating was a longstanding family tradition for them.

“My father was Irish and he donated consistently for years, so I’m here on St. Patrick’s Day as a tribute to him,” said Mary McCarthy Glover. “I come every four months as a way to give back.” Mary also shared that her donation type, Power Red, was important to her, because it can be used to help trauma victims.

Another donor, David Janssen, shared that he recently moved to the United States from Canada and that it was his first time donating since moving here. “I donated a lot when I was in Canada, and my dad and grandfather were both frequent donors as well,” he said. David also shared that he was a big fan and season ticket holder of the Seals, which was how he found out about the event. He added that he was looking forward to donating more regularly again.

Members of the Seals team and the Sirens dance team also volunteered at the event and donated blood. Cam Holding, Seals player #19 and assistant captain, and Leslie Rodriguez shared that they were both donating and volunteering for the event as a way to give back to their communities.

“We are grateful to the San Diego Seals for hosting a community blood drive to help collect blood products for patients in the ER, fighting cancer or facing a life-threatening illness,” said Dharma Nichols, Red Cross Southern California Blood Services District Manager.

Blood collected from the drive will help replenish the low blood supply and ensure cancer patients, trauma victims, surgery patients and others throughout the region receive the blood products they need. Blood drives are an essential service providing a medical necessity to hospital patients, who rely on volunteer donors to receive blood transfusions since blood is perishable and cannot be manufactured or stockpiled.

To learn more about how to make a difference through donating blood, go to RedCrossBlood.org.