By: Gordon Williams, American Red Cross Volunteer

John Vassall, MD is a well-respected physician who practiced internal medicine for over 25 years before becoming the chief medical officer of Seattle’s Swedish Health Services and later, regional dean for the Washington State University Elson S Floyd College of Medicine. 

However, one look at the framed photograph now in his office and you see a teenage boy in a different role -- as the founder and president of his high school’s American Red Cross club.  

His mother originally framed the picture and kept it as a cherished reminder of her son's high school days. “She passed it to me when she died in 2019,” Dr. Vassall says.

Dr. Vassall says he always had a passionate interest in biology and medicine. He worked at his local public library in Brooklyn, New York as a youth, giving him the opportunityto read up on medical matters. One topic that caught his interest was the way donated blood was used in some medical treatments.

Reading up on blood donations inevitably brought him to the American Red Cross, which collects nearly half of all blood donated in the United States, as well as to the history of blood banking in World War II led by Dr. Charles Drew.

“I have always been a joiner, Dr. Vassall says, “and I like to take part in the running of the organizations I join.” In short order, his high school Red Cross club was up and running, with 40 members taking part.  

The club was responsible for the function now carried out by Red Cross “blood ambassadors”. They greet donors, check them in and collect vital information. Once the donation is complete, ambassadors watch over the donors until they are deemed to be recovered enough to resume normal activity — helping them recover with snacks and drinks.   

The club’s work also went beyond the blood program. “We learned first aid and helped to put together first aid kits,” Dr. Vassall says. “We also learned how to respond to disasters. But what was most memorable to me was assisting at blood drives.” Dr. Vassall says he helped at over a dozen drives himself. 

Dr. Vassall stayed active in the club while he was in high school, but moved out of state for college. He attended the University of Washington Medical School in Seattle and did his residency at Emory University in Atlanta.

As a doctor, donated blood was used in the treatment of some of his patients and he admires the key role the American Red Cross plays in the nation’s blood program. A blood transfusion is performed every two seconds at a hospital somewhere in the U.S., and no organization provides more of that blood than the Red Cross.     

To anyone thinking of giving blood, Dr. Vassall urges them to donate. There will always be a need for blood donations, to treat accident victims and to help patients with cancer, sickle cell anemia and many bleeding disorders.

He adds that blood collection is safer and less intrusive than it was in his day. “The testing and screening procedures are much better,” he says. “Your blood is needed and there is no reason to be anxious about giving it.”   

Throughout his career Dr. Vassall has been active in local, regional and national professional and community organizations. He served the Washington State Medical Association for fifteen years as Vice-Speaker and Speaker of the House of Delegates and as a Trustee for more than 25 years.    

He has lectured locally on contributions to medicine by African-American researchers, including key roles in the development of the mRNA vaccine used against Covid-19.