By Kristin Goodwillie, Northwest Region

"There's always a first!"

That's what Bettina Stix, global director of Amazon Community Impact, said as she rolled up her sleeve to donate blood for the very first time. Bettina grew up in Germany and wasn’t eligible to give blood due to FDA guidance on variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), which was believed to be derived from mad cow disease.

But in 2022, the FDA eliminated the deferral for those who spent time in certain countries between 1980 and 2001.

"Even after the restriction was lifted, I kept putting it off," Bettina said. "Life gets in the way — there was always something else on the calendar. Then I learned my blood type. O-negative can be given to any patient in an emergency. Knowing that turned donating from something I should probably do into something I couldn't justify not doing."

Giving blood was especially meaningful because of her family's personal connection to the need. After her grandmother was seriously injured in a car accident, blood transfusions helped save her life. Years later, her sister also relied on blood products while receiving treatment for terminal cancer.

“Because of my blood type, I see donating as a moral obligation,” Bettina said.

She made her first donation alongside colleagues at an Amazon blood drive hosted at the Seattle American Red Cross Blood and Platelet Donation Center. She wasn't alone. Many employees who had previously been affected by travel-related restrictions were also eligible to donate for the first time, with 17 first-time donors rolling up their sleeves that day.

For Bettina, blood donation reflects the same spirit of service that has guided her humanitarian work throughout her career. She sees donating blood as a simple but powerful way to help others, creating a connection between people who may never meet but whose lives become linked through a lifesaving gift.

"What a beautiful way to be connected to the world and to give a part of yourself that can live on in someone else," she said.

Thank you, Bettina — and Amazon — for supporting our mission and helping ensure lifesaving blood is available for patients in need.