By Carl Manning, American Red Cross
They came from near and far, family members, friends and others who wanted to help out by donating blood at the American Red Cross sixth-annual Katie Scott Blood Drive in Overland Park, Kansas. Held simultaneously on Feb. 3 in St. Louis, Omaha and Phoenix, the event yielded 463 units of blood at the four locations, with 286 coming from Overland Park.
Katie’s smile and personality always made people feel welcomed and her energy was contagious, even as she fought a rare form of blood cancer. She was passionate about helping others in need, so when colleagues at Renaissance Financial asked how they could help she suggested putting together a Red Cross blood drive to provide more of the transfusions that had prolonged her life and given her hope.
The dream quickly became a reality but Katie never got to see it. She died in 2018 before the first drive was held in her name.
The gathering this year had a somewhat festive atmosphere, in many ways like a reunion of family and friends, greeting each other with smiles and hugs, checking on how things are going in their lives.
Katie’s parents, Ann and Mark Reynolds, were there to greet donors and thank them for coming. They walked around the donation area, talking to those donating blood.
“It’s a great way to help others and Katie always liked helping others. This was her idea to continue helping people,” said Ann, who later in the day made her own donation.
Liz Phillips, who is Katie’s sister, said it’s amazing to see how important it is to help others in need.
“Oh, Katie is so definitely smiling down from heaven,” she said. “She would be so happy to see so many showing up to help others.”
Those donating blood knew how important it is to participate because every two seconds someone in the U.S. requries blood and the need is constant.
Kylie Sapone is a Red Cross blood collections supervisor who has worked at five of the Katie Scott blood drives and watched the number of donors increase over the years.
“I think people realize that what we do is very important. We do it because it saves lives and this drive has helped build awareness in this area,” she said.
Katie’s husband, Ryan Scott, was busy as scores of people offered him their best wishes and commented on what a wonderful person Katie was.
Ryan paused and looked around the room at those donating and getting ready to donate. “She would be so happy, and that makes me happy. Seeing the impact this has, that’s what it’s all about.”
Many traveled great distances to donate in Katie’s memory. Friends like Jon Deines, who drove from Beatrice, Nebraska, was joined by Judd Knispel who lives in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
“Katie was just a wonderful person. Any chance we get to support her or a great cause like the American Red Cross, we’ll drive and make a full day out of it to celebrate a wonderful person,” Jon said.
If you would like to donate blood to the Red Cross, go to redcrossblood.org and sign up for an appointment.
