Donors shared the gift of life at an American Red Cross blood drive Tuesday at the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center’s Center of Nursing Excellence.
By 1:30 p.m., with the blood drive set to end at 2 p.m., a total of 17 people had donated blood.
“We had some people not on the list that decided they wanted to donate today, so we had more than we anticipated,” said Kelly Throckmorton, manager of the Center of Nursing Excellence. She said this is the first Red Cross blood drive that has been held at the Center of Nursing Excellence under her leadership, but she hopes there will be “many more to come.”
“Hopefully, this will address the blood shortages while giving people an opportunity to give back to their community,” Throckmorton expressed. “You can help save a life, and donating blood is really necessary. People are getting blood transfusions regularly if they have medical conditions or ailments, so it’s a regular need.”
Among the donors was a member of the faculty at the Center of Nursing Excellence — Becky Anderson.
“My mom recently died of cancer, and she had to have blood transfusions,” Anderson said. “So, I’m just trying to give back.”
Anderson said the process of donating blood “doesn’t hurt a bit” and she would “definitely” do it again.
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