Terry Dean is from Lynchburg, a village right on the Clinton County line and the southern edge of Community Blood Center’s 15-county region. For Terry, logging miles to give blood is just part of being a “Donor for Life,” and he celebrated the journey recently with his 100th lifetime donation.
Mr. Dean reached the milestone when he donated on Aug. 9 at the Wilmington Eagles Lodge blood drive.
“I started donating blood back in Pennsylvania, when I was 17,” Dean said about the beginning of his “Donor for Life” journey.
“It seemed like a good way to help others, who are in real need. I donated blood regularly through the Red Cross over there, and continued through my time in the Air Force, when I was stationed in South Carolina. When I finally settled in Ohio, it was real easy to just get into a routine,” said Dean.
Dean is an O positive donor, meaning he is a universal donor for all Rh positive blood types.
He averages three donations per year and is a regular at the blood drives hosted every other month by the Wilmington Eagles Lodge on East Sugartree Street in Wilmington.
“It still seems like a great way to help others through an anonymous act of kindness,” he said. “Just keeping it between God and me. LOL!”
Community Blood Center/Community Tissue Services is an independent, not-for-profit organization. Community Blood Center provides blood products to 25 hospitals and health centers within a 15-county service area in the Miami (Ohio) and Whitewater (Indiana) Valleys.
For more information about Community Blood Center/Community Tissue Services, please visit www.givingblood.org.
Blood donation requirements: Donors are required to provide a photo ID that includes their full name. Past CBC donors are also asked to bring their CBC donor ID card. Donors must be at least 17 years of age (16 years old with parental consent: form available at www.givingblood.org or at CBC branch and blood drive locations), weigh a minimum of 110 pounds (you may have to weigh more, depending on your height), and be in good physical health.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) changes blood donor eligibility guidelines periodically. Individuals with eligibility questions are invited to email [email protected] or call 1-800-388-GIVE.
