By Calvin Williams

Justin Romero never thought he would become a phlebotomist, “If you would have told me, ya know, 5 years ago that this is where I would be working and this is what I would be doing, I wouldn’t have believed you.”

Justin, now the Lead Apheresis Technician at the Red Cross in Seattle, had an unlikely path to the organization. He spent the first 25 years of his career as a tile installer in Oregon, doing “backbreaking” work, as he describes it. So, deciding that it was time for a change, Justin took a chance, switching careers after a quarter century, he decided to apply to the Red Cross.

Make no mistake, becoming a phlebotomist is no easy task either, being able to take blood donations, “It takes a certain something to be able to do that,” according to Justin. But coupled with the right training and a belief in himself, he was able to.

While the tile installer to the phlebotomist pipeline is weak, albeit nonexistent, the decision made sense to Justin. He was drawn to the idea of taking blood donations because of his father, who suffered from leukemia and received transfusions for his treatment all the time. This experience brought to light the importance of donations for Justin, who stated, “The need for blood is constant.”

Mr. Romero didn’t stay in that role for long, though. Just two years after he joined, he’s now the Lead Apheresis Technician in Seattle, working to separate vital platelets and plasma from blood samples. While he raves about the work he’s doing being the most impactful of his life, he talks more about the donors, joking, “We’re about taking care of the donors because they’re the - for lack of a better term, they’re the lifeblood of the Red Cross.”

For Justin, the Red Cross provided him with a sense of purpose that he felt was missing in his career and gave him something that he was proud to write home about. “I have two young daughters, they’re important to me, and them knowing where I’m working and what I’m doing is a big part of it too. I want them to see how important it is to have compassion for people and do something meaningful.”

Justin found his calling in the Red Cross and is proud toshare that with anyone who’s willing to listen. “If I could say one thing about my job, it’s that I love it, I love going to work every day, I feel good about what I’m doing, I feel good about where I’m working, when I tell people where I work everybody’s heard of the Red Cross.”