Sabina donor John Surber celebrated St. Patrick’s Day, March 17 by donating platelets for his milestone 300th lifetime donation at the Dayton CBC Donation Center. It was a subdued St. Patrick’s Day and a very different time compared to when he reached his 200th donation milestone back on Christmas Eve 2014.
“I definitely don’t have any green,” John said about the low-key recognition of this holiday. He pointed to the green socks he received as a donor gift and said, “They’ll have to get the job done.”
John said he started donating at the American Legion Post in Wilmington. “I think it was 1976. It was shortly after I started my job at the company I own now.”
The company is Premier Solutions, a family of companies that specializes in breeding livestock for international export. John said his company’s expertise equips them with dealing with the threat of COVID-19.
“In our world, bio-security is something we live daily,” said John.
John has been donating platelets and plasma since 2014. He saw it as an opportunity to help more people. “I do what I can when I can,” he said.
Back on Christmas Eve 2014 he was able to end the year on a high note with his 200th donation. The satisfaction he finds in his 300th lifetime donation is very different.
It comes when the blood supply, and especially the platelet supply, is in jeopardy. Donations have slowed as the community takes safeguards to halt the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19. John’s milestone donation is more important than ever, even if it comes on a somber St. Patrick’s Day.
“I hope we don’t have another one like it,” he said.
