John Beasley of Irving, Texas, is passionate about donating platelets to the American Red Cross, which is evident in his goal of making a maximum of 24 platelet donations this year.
Beasley’s exposure to donating began when he was young. His father’s blood type was O-negative, a universal blood donor, which resulted in him giving often. Beasley began donating blood when he was in the Navy. They had group competitions to see which unit had the most participation, which furthered Beasley’s determination to donate.
Beasley admitted to letting his blood donations go by the wayside at one point. But when he started working with a client in Mississippi 20 years ago that hosted blood drives within their organization, Beasley’s spark to donate was reignited. The blood drives brought Beasley, and he has continued ever since.
When Beasley moved to Texas 10 years ago, he was looking for an organization to donate blood to. After several years of donating at another local collection center, he had the opportunity to try the Red Cross Blood and Platelet Donation Center in Irving.
“My goal was to do a whole blood donation and meet the staff. The supervisor, Aisha, and the rest of the staff were great. They saw I was in for whole blood and asked if I was interested in donating platelets, and I said yes,” said Beasley. “I jumped right in because the team asked the question.
“I like seeing when and where the platelets and blood get used. The Red Cross awards badges on the blood donor app. I appreciate the badges because they give me a goal to achieve as I help others. I am also able to book multiple appointments to stay on track.” Part of Beasley’s New Year’s Resolution is getting 20 out of 24 badges.
“The positive of donating is that you’re doing something for the community, and your donation goes to someone who really needs it,” Beasley shared while donating platelets. “You can do it on your schedule. It is easy to do good. The more you do it, the more it can drive you to reach new goals when donating.
“The biggest commitment is your time. The platelet donation is easy and does not take too much out of you. I receive a thank-you email every time I donate, and that is a nice touch to remind the public that our donations do matter. I love receiving promotional t-shirts when I donate. You can never have too many shirts, and it’s a constant reminder of the good you did.”
You can schedule a platelet donation appointment by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
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