In its sixth year, 6abc Philly continued its tradition of sponsoring a Red Cross Month Blood Drive on the last Wednesday in March. This year’s drive—held on March 25, which was also Red Cross Giving Day—expanded to five locations in Southeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey and collected 517 units of blood.

According to Jennifer Graham, CEO, Red Cross Southeastern Pennsylvania Region, the drive comes at a critical time of year.

“Severe winter weather across the country has caused thousands of blood donations to go uncollected over the past several months,” she said. “At the same time, we’re preparing for summer when donations decrease because of school breaks and vacations.”

Graham says that donors of all blood types are needed now to help ensure patient care is not disrupted and the blood supply is stable heading into spring.

Since 2021, the 6abc Philly Blood Drive has collected 1,614 donations.

Some donors, like Janelle Cheeseborough, came out to give for the first time. 6abc aired several news stories about the importance of donating blood in the days leading up to the drive that caught her attention.

“I saw it pop up on Channel 6 and I thought, you know I’ve never done it before. So, I thought, ‘why not?’”

Janelle wasn’t nervous because she said, “I felt welcome as soon as I came in. Like I’ve already been here before. I felt welcome.” She plans to donate again and is going to bring her sister to donate too.

One of those recipient stories on 6abc featured Red Cross communications volunteer Jenny Farley, who received 5 blood transfusions following surgical complications in November.

She has written dozens of stories about people who have needed blood, never imagining she would be one of them.

"It changes everything because I think until your own life is at stake, you can't really get it," she told 6abc anchor Gray Hall during the interview, which you can watch below.

Some people that came out to donate on Wednesday were seasoned blood donors.

Deborah Johnson-Jennings is 70 years old and has been donating blood for 45 years! She started giving when she worked for a school district and now tries to donate at least once a year. So, what did it mean to her to donate at the 6abc drive?

“It means a lot because I know it’s well needed. It’s just one way you can give back,” she said.

Jennifer and Kevin Lewis both celebrate March birthdays. They came to the drive together to donate blood as a birthday gift to themselves and others.

Jennifer is a Philadelphia police officer who has donated for more than 25 years.

“I used to donate almost every 56 days if I could. So, I just kept up the tradition and now I try to do it at least two, three times a year,” she said.

Kevin worked at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for 27 years as a respiratory therapist and sleep technologist. It was his first time donating blood at the 6abc drive. He was especially moved to learn that because he is African American his blood may be used for sickle cell patients.

“I have family members that have sickle cell. So, just to hear that, I got choked up. In addition to getting choked up, it was like, ‘Wow, I need to do this more often,’” he said.

Volunteers who serve as blood donor ambassadors help blood drives run smoothly by caring for the donors who come out to give.

Welcoming donors is blood donor ambassador D’LaVale Anderson-Reeves’ specialty. She is a breast cancer survivor who has volunteered for the Red Cross for more than 20 years and works as part of the community outreach team too.

Her favorite part is “meeting a lot of people.” She also enjoys recruiting new Red Cross volunteers and making donors feel better if it turns out they aren’t able to donate for health reasons.

“Some people get upset because they’re not able to give, so you’re trying to make them feel better and that makes me feel good. What I always say is, ‘well, you can’t give blood – you can always come and reschedule another time – but you know we can use some volunteers when you come and join us.’”

Susan Brereton is a new Red Cross volunteer who has been doing it for about a month. The 6abc blood drive was her second shift as a blood donor ambassador.

“I'm still learning the ropes but this is a really exciting event here because so many people are coming.” She said, “So far, so good. Everybody’s lovely.”

In addition to the location in Philadelphia at the Courtyard by Marriott City Avenue, 6abc drives were held at the Spring Valley YMCA in Royersford and Sellersville Fire Department in Southeastern Pennsylvania. In South Jersey,  locations included the Collingswood Grand Ballroom and the Forum Wedding and Catering Hall in Blackwood.

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- Written by Jenny Farley and Alana Mauger