Cleveland man aims for 1,000 blood donations

WEIRTON -- After donating blood twice in each U.S. state, Al Whitney of Cleveland has set a new goal for himself: racking up a total of 1,000 donations of the life-giving commodity.

Following a stop at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Weirton Monday to participate in a blood drive held by Vitalant, formerly Central Blood Bank, the 84-year-old came closer, with 991 units under his belt, or perhaps, beneath his sleeve.

Whitney said he started giving blood in 1965 after seeing a sign for a blood drive in downtown Cleveland.

He said as he stepped out, he said to himself, “Al, you can do better than this.”

Whitney said his next move was to call the Lorrain County Blood Bank, now Lifeshare Community Blood Services, and offer to organize a blood drive at his church.

He confessed he had never organized a blood drive but he wanted to help. That first drive netted only three donations.

“But I was excited about that because there was only one way to go. Up,” said Whitney.

During the next 35 years, blood drives under Whitney’s volunteer leadership generated 2,069 units of blood.

“I ran 56 per year in the last 15 years,” said Whitney, who retired from organizing the drives in 2000 but has continued to give blood himself.

He found that inner voice telling himself to “Donate in every state. Share your knowledge with other blood drives.”

Whitney said sometimes those behind other drives find his advice useful, sometimes not, but he takes it all in stride.

And he’s not shifted his focus from giving blood and encouraging others to do the same.

“Donate. Please. Take the time to do it. And on a regular basis,” Whitney urges others.

Pointing to another donor in the church’s social hall, he said, “The gentleman over there is not giving blood. He’s giving life.”

Whitney said giving blood is easier when one makes it part of a routine. Noting most donors may give blood every 56 days, he suggested making a habit of visiting a regular local drive in each odd or even month of the year.

Another donor, Ray Lounder of Burgettstown, revealed he’s taken that approach.

“It’s like changing oil in the car. It’s good for you because you are helping someone out,” he said.

Monday’s donation was the 97th for Lounder, who started giving blood as a serviceman in 1965 and continued at a workplace and various community drives since.

Lisa Gibson, another donor from Burgettstown, said she started donating blood four or five years ago because she has family who benefited from blood donors.

She said she comes to the Weirton drive because the staff there are friendly.

“I like everybody here. They’re really nice,” Gibson said.

The blood drive at St. Thomas Episcopal Church is held from 1 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. on the third Monday of each month. Walk-ins are welcome but appointments can be made by visiting www.vitalant.org.

Kristen Lane, spokesperson for Vitalant, said blood collected by the nonprofit organization may be divided into blood cells, platelets and plasma and used for a variety of patients.

She noted the platelets donated by Whitney are particularly beneficial to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.