Joelle Dela Cruz hugs her grandfather during graduation a couple years ago.
By Tana Kelley, Northwest Region
Joelle Dela Cruz remembers seeing the difference a blood transfusion could make for her grandfather who suffered from a chronic blood marrow disorder.
He would grow tired from his illness and recognize that he needed another treatment, which she learned often included some type of blood or platelet transfusion. Afterwards, he would feel better.
Then, before long, he would need treatment again.
Sometimes, those appointments came nearly every week. As Dela Cruz watched her grandfather return for care, she began to understand what it meant to depend on people her family would never meet: donors who had taken time out of their own lives to give.
“I just saw the need,” she said.
And she realized she could help meet it.
For years, Dela Cruz had associated the American Red Cross with disaster relief. She knew about its work helping communities prepare for emergencies and recover afterward.
Her grandfather’s experience introduced her to another side of that mission.
She saw that the need for blood could continue week after week, through treatments and appointments that became part of a family’s routine. As her grandfather’s condition progressed and transfusions became more frequent, Dela Cruz thought about how much donated blood that care required.
After his first few appointments, she began making her own donations a more regular commitment.
She wanted other families to have what her grandfather needed: blood available when it was time for the next treatment.
“Just seeing how many times he went in, and how much he needed,” Dela Cruz said, helped motivate her to keep giving.
Dela Cruz began donating more regularly while her grandfather was still alive.
After he died, she continued.
Over the past few years, she estimates she has made about a dozen donations, including blood and platelet donations, through the Red Cross and other blood collection organizations. She tries to give as often as she is eligible.
Each appointment gives her a way to act on something she learned by watching her grandfather receive care. She knows there are other people waiting for treatments, and other families hoping their loved ones will feel better afterward.
She cannot know all their stories. She knows enough from her own family’s experience to want to help.
“It’s a positive feeling, knowing that I can help,” Dela Cruz said.
That feeling has helped turn an occasional donation into a habit she hopes to carry forward for years.
Joelle Dela Cruz now makes donating blood a top priority.
For someone considering giving blood for the first time, Dela Cruz has a simple message.
“Just try it out,” she said.
She recognizes that there can be hesitation before that first appointment. Her encouragement is to think about the person who could benefit from them taking that step.
“Just know that you are helping others.”
Asked whether she hopes to be one of those donors who keeps returning for decades, her answer is clear: “As long as I can and as much as I can.”
Her grandfather gave her a personal reason to become a regular donor. With each donation, she carries his memory forward by helping someone whose story she may never know.
The Red Cross offers blood collection services in many locations across Washington State and Northern Idaho.To locate the closest one for you, visit RedCrossBlood.org.
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