The father & daughter pair of Emily Brown and John Stout of Central Ohio have a tradition of donating much-needed lifesaving platelets together. “When possible, we try to book our appointments on the same day,” Emily said. It’s a practice that started years ago when John would donate blood on a regular cadence. 

Growing up, Emily, of Pataskala, Ohio, remembers her father being a regular blood donor. “I can’t remember if it was in a gym or at the church, but the Red Cross would call him and he would go donate,” Emily said. John’s regular blood donations are what inspired Emily to also become a blood donor. “I started in high school as soon as I was eligible.” Emily is now a nurse who works in emergency surgery at a local hospital. “I see the traumas and know the importance of giving blood.”

Curious, one day Emily decided to ask about her eligibility to donate platelets. Platelets are the tiny cells in blood that form clots and stop bleeding. Platelets are most often used for cancer treatments, in organ transplants and other surgical procedures. The ideal donor is someone with A positive, A negative, B positive, O positive, AB positive and AB negative blood types.

Learning that she was eligible, Emily made her first platelet donation three years ago. “I haven’t looked back,” Emily said with pride. 

Just as Emily’s father inspired her to become a regular blood donor, Emily inspired her father to become a regular platelet donor. The pair tries to make their donations together, on the same date and time. “This new Blood and Platelet Donation Center in Lancaster, Ohio is really convenient for my dad, so we thought we’d try this location.” 

In a platelet donation, a machine collects platelets along with some plasma, returning red cells and most of the plasma back to the donor. It takes between two and a half to three hours to make a platelet donation. At the Red Cross Lancaster donation site, Emily and John lay comfortably making their donations while watching TV and sharing time together.

Emily and John find the time they spend making their platelet donations very fulfilling. “It’s a one second or two second prick in the arm and the reward is saving lives,” Emily said. “To me that’s worth it.”

You can learn more about donating platelets at American Red Cross donation centers here.