Priceless Donations That Don’t Cost You a Cent

You can save a life without risking your own or ever opening your wallet.

All it takes is a blood donation during the 28^th Annual County Employees Blood Drive this month. It kicks off at 10 a.m., Thursday, April 5 at the County Administration Center downtown. In less than a lunch hour, you can make all the difference to a trauma patient or people who suffer from life-threatening blood disorders like aplastic anemia, sickle cell anemia and leukemia. You may even help one of our own.

Border Health Assistant Juan Olmeda organized the County blood drives for years never dreaming that he would need large amounts of blood. The 54-year-old was diagnosed with leukemia in 2009. As part of his treatment, he needed two pints of blood a day. In all, he used at least 20 pints. The donations gave him the time he needed to find a matching bone marrow donor.

Olmeda says he’s lucky enough to come from a large family. His seven brothers and sisters were tested but only his younger sister, Lourdes, proved to be a 100 percent match for a bone marrow transplant. He underwent the transplant in 2010 and Juan returned to work early last year.

Olmeda is still on medication but he says his body is getting better day by day. He sees the doctor once a month instead of twice a week. “Thanks to this blood drive, I was able to work again. I’m not 100 percent but I’m going that way little by little.” 

Once again, he’s back at the forefront in organizing the County blood drive but with a renewed appreciation on the important of giving blood. He says you never know when you’re going to be on the other side and need blood rather than give blood.

“Now, it’s different. It helped me and it will help a lot of other people too,” said Olmeda. “It’s really simple to give. Everyone has blood, it’s a way to give back and help people at the same time.”

While Olmeda can’t personally give blood this year due to his medications, his extended family and his three children all donate.

The San Diego Blood Bank needs 400 pints of blood every day to meet demand. Although 80 percent of us will need a blood transfusion during our lifetime, only 5 percent of the U.S. population donates blood. While the County Blood Drive is the third largest for the region behind the Chargers and Comic Convention Drives, much more blood is needed.   

County Supervisor Greg Cox has been a donor for more than 30 years and has given 116 pints of blood.

“Every year, the San Diego Blood Bank depends on us and other donors for supplies,” said Supervisor Cox. “This is another way that we, as public servants, can make a difference. By donating blood, we can save lives.” 

This year, five County locations will host blood drives throughout the month of April. You can make an appointment on line or walk in to make a donation. Employees can use County time to donate by asking for their supervisor’s approval in advance.

As Olmeda says, you never know when you might need help. After all, if something happened to you or a loved one, wouldn’t you want to make sure there was enough blood?