TEMPE, Ariz. — Every time you donate blood, you're saving a life.
That's what David Rees, who survived leukemia thanks to 37 blood transfusions, wants people to know.
"Seven years ago, I was diagnosed with cancer, and I was told I three to four weeks to live if we didn't start treatments," Rees said. "Thirty-seven blood donors took the time to keep me alive. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have been able to be in remission and beat cancer and get married and have a daughter."
Rees was one of multiple blood recipients at Arizona's largest blood drive, the Saving Arizona Blood Drive, on Sunday. Vitalant, the nation's largest independent, nonprofit blood services provider, hosted the blood drive at Tempe Center for the Arts and expected nearly 600 donors to be in attendance.
David Rees, a leukemia survivor, had 37 lifesaving blood transfusions, and wants people donating to blood that they are saving lives.
The days between Christmas and New Year's were the ten slowest days for blood donations. But Sue Thew, the communications manager at Vitalant, said more blood transfusions are needed in January than in other months of the year.
"What people often don't stop and think about is that tragedy strikes without a moment's notice," Thew said. "It truly is the blood that's already on the shelves that saves lives when people have emergencies."
To be eligible to donate blood, Thew said people should be feeling healthy. Especially during the winter months when flu is more common, feeling well enough to donate blood is essential.
If you are healthy and weigh at least 110 pounds, you can be evaluated to see if you are eligible to donate blood, Thew said.
Thew said for those who were unable to get out on Sunday to donate blood, check out the Vitalant website for locations and hours of centers across the state to find a time and place to donate blood.
"You can take 30 minutes to an hour out of your day to donate blood and you're saving someone's life, you're giving them the opportunities they wouldn't have had otherwise," Rees said. "You're keeping them on Earth."
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