Even though his wife was a much-loved instructor for the American Red Cross, it took a life-changing event to convince Dale Watts to roll up his sleeve and donate blood. But once he started, he never stopped.
Watts, 78, of Tulsa, recently reached the 10-gallons of blood donations milestone. His late wife Mary had been a medical technician at St. Francis Hospital for 25 years and later served as an instructor for Red Cross Blood Services. Her work was so appreciated that upon her passing in 2010, the room in which she taught at the Tulsa Red Cross Blood and Platelet Donation Center was dedicated in her honor. However, for the longest time, she was unable to coax her husband Dale to donate blood. It seems that when he underwent a physical for the military draft back in 1966, he fainted when the doctor drew blood.
“The next thing I knew, they were picking me up off the floor,” he said. “When Mary was going to med school, she tried to practice drawing blood on me, but I wouldn’t let her,” he said.
Dale continued to resist donating blood until he, himself, was admitted to the hospital for a life-threatening condition in 2001 that required a significant amount of blood transfusions.
“When I got home in February 2002, I didn’t know how much blood I went through while I was hospitalized,” he said. “While there was no way to tell, I just knew that I needed to repay that in some fashion.”
“I decided that I have just got to do this,” Watts added. “And so, I just started doing it.”
And so, he did. He has become a regular visitor to the center that bears his late wife’s name. Watts, retired director of publications for the Oklahoma Soccer Association and a retired English teacher of 31 years said he recognizes that there is a constant need to renew the nation’s blood supply.
“They are always needing blood, Watts said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been told ‘gee, we don’t need you this time because we have a good supply,’”
There is someone who needs blood in the U.S. every two seconds. The American Red Cross collects 40 percent of the nation’s blood supply. A single blood donation can save more than one life. A blood donation appointment takes about an hour from start to finish, but the actual donation itself takes only eight to 10 minutes.
“It is just something that I felt I should do,” Watts said. “I consider it as a gift to somebody that’s in need of it.”
Eligible individuals are encouraged to schedule a blood or platelet donation appointment by using the Red Cross Blood Donor app, visiting redcrossblood.org or calling 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.
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