Steph Judge comes from a long line of family members who have given blood over and over. “They donated from the time they could start giving,” she says. Her uncle, mother, brother, father and grandfather have all donated blood and for a while she was the lone holdout. “I was afraid I was going to pass out.”

But that all changed when she walked into a blood drive at the fire house in Upper Gwynedd Township, her mind made up. She was ready to give for the first time ever.

“My only regret is not trying it sooner.”

Judge says the whole process from start to finish was easy. She signed up on the Red Cross Blood Donor app and felt immediately taken care of by the compassionate phlebotomist who looked after her.

“I was very comfortable. I knew I was in good hands. The [phlebotomist] walked me through everything that was going to happen. Nothing hurt!”

For Judge, giving blood is personal. She has fond memories of the Red Cross plaques and pins her father and grandfather earned from their years donating blood. The Red Cross collects 40% of America’s blood supply.

Throughout his lifetime, her grandfather donated five gallons before he went from donor to recipient, needing blood transfusions during a kidney transplant. And her dad needed blood transfusions when he got sick from lung cancer.

“They were both really great men. My dad really cared about everyone. If you needed something he was there and that’s part of why I wanted to donate because I knew it was something that he did and I wanted to carry on that legacy. The same with my grandfather. Pretty selfless men which you don’t find too often.”

For Judge, being selfless runs in the family. She went into the medical field to help people, working as a physical therapy assistant.

“We help people rehab from injury. We help them get back to where they were before.” The biggest challenge? “Reminding people that they need to keep going, even when they feel like things aren’t working. They need to just keep going.”

Lately, Judge has been traveling more than ever. She has a love of hiking and checking out local wineries. One place she plans to go again… right back to donating. Judge has already signed up for her next blood and platelet donation and she is encouraging friends and coworkers to donate too.

“I told them it wasn’t as scary as some people make it seem and it’s a really good thing to do for other people.”

For more information on donating blood go to RedCrossBlood.org or sign up on the Red Cross Blood Donor app just like Judge did. Download the free app by texting BLOODAPP to 90999 or search “American Red Cross” in app stores. Your blood donation will save lives and you could be starting your next great family tradition.

- Written by Jenny Farley, Submitted photo