By Leslie Czernik, Communications Volunteer

Each year, the board of directors for the Greater Inland Northwest Chapter (GINW) in Spokane, WA sets a goal to hold one board-led blood drive during each fiscal year. 2024 marks the third year of this event, recently held on June 20th at Bouten Construction.

Linda Lucas, director of human resources for Bouten Construction and a GINW board member, led this year’s blood drive as part of her role on the Community Outreach Committee. “It’s been super easy,” said Lucas. “Our current company president was a prior board member with the American Red Cross, and I got his support to donate the space.”
From an initial glance, this blood drive looks similar to other drives happening in communities all across the nation. Donors check-in with RapidPass® on the day of the event. Phlebotomists take patient history, connect with the donors, and expertly guide them through a donation process that can be completed in 10 minutes or less. And of course, there are snacks and drinks at the ready for patients to help recover afterwards. So, what makes this different from a typical Red Cross blood drive?

According to Albery Lockhart, board chair of the GINW chapter, “we take full responsibility for the drive — to make sure it gets set up, where it’s held, to get the participants in the blood drive — and the American Red Cross is there to help us.” With up to 40 open appointments available during the drive, board members are asked to connect with their circles of influence including friends, family and coworkers to sign up for the drive. Board members themselves like Lucas, Lisa Wideman, Christian LiVecchi, and Tom Arnold commit to donating blood at the event.

“My grandpa had a really rare blood type, and he would donate regularly,” said Wideman. “When I had the opportunity, I figured why not try it out. If you give it a try, you won’t regret it.”

Christian LiVecchi, firefighter with Spokane County Fire District 9 and board member, chose to do a Power Red donation, a process that allows donors to give two units of red blood cells during a donation rather than the typical single unit. “I thought it might be nice to do twice as much if they can use it,” said LiVecchi.

Kyle Kayler, a prospective board member, is very familiar with blood donation and the importance of a well-stocked blood supply. “In late 2003, my son — he was about 10 months old — was diagnosed with a very rare blood disease. At that time, my dad had always been a blood donor, so, I started donating with him and that’s what led me to the American Red Cross initially.”

As Kyle connected with other board members before and during the blood drive, the wider mission of the Red Cross became apparent. “There’s been so much more that I’ve learned about the Red Cross since engaging in these conversations. It’s really opened my eyes to the opportunities within the Red Cross.”

“You never know who you know is going to need that blood,” said Kayler as he spoke about his son and wife preparing for an upcoming kidney transplant in which his wife will be the donor.

At the end of the drive, the numbers show the impact — 32 donors resulted in 34 units collected. LiVecchi and three others chose to do Power Red donations, the largest amount of power red collected in Spokane and one of the most successful drives in Spokane in 2024.

All blood types are needed to ensure a robust blood supply is available when patients need it most. Visit RedCrossBlood.org to find a blood donation appointment near you.

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