Group of Women Friends Inspire Others to Give Blood

Even during the coronavirus, donations are needed

four photos of women donating blood clockwise from top left are pamela mcgraw twannia gay teena leach and victoria stevenson

Clockwise from top left: Pamela McGraw, Twannia Gay, Teena Leach, Victoria Steveson.

Courtesy of Twannia Gay

By:

Sarah Elizabeth Adler,

AARP

En español

Published November 13, 2020

Twannia Gay of Alexandria, Virginia, celebrates her days out with girlfriends a little differently than might be expected.

Every eight weeks, Gay and her friends meet up for an early breakfast and to catch up with one another before donating blood as a group. It's a tradition the women have kept up for years — and they have no intention of stopping anytime soon.

"Once I educated myself on the importance of donating blood, that was my driving point,” says Gay, 50, who has donated blood to the American Red Cross nearly every eight weeks for 20 years, starting when she was in her late 20s.

The tradition of breakfast-and-donation days came about several years after Gay began donating by herself. One by one, she persuaded her friends Teena Leach and Victoria Steveson, along with older sister Pamela McGraw, to join her and donate as often as they could (donors are required to wait eight weeks, or 56 days, between standard blood donations because of the time it takes for red blood cells to be replaced after donating).

four women at a restaurant for brunch clockwise from top left are pamela mcgraw victoria stevenson teena leach and twannia gay

Clock-wise from left: Pamela McGraw, Victoria Steveson, Teena Leach, Twannia Gay

Courtesy of Twannia Gay

What to Know About Donating Blood

It is still safe to give blood during the coronavirus pandemic, and donations are needed. Here's what you should know.

Blood donors must be at least 17 years old in most states, weigh at least 110 pounds and be in good health.
Eligibility requirements related to medical conditions, travel to certain countries, and other factors may apply.
For a full list of donor criteria or to make an appointment near you, visit redcrossblood.org.

"People who donate every 56 days are far and few between,” says Yvette Miller, M.D., executive medical director for the American Red Cross’ Donor and Client Support Center, and they account for just 1 percent of the organization's whole blood donor base. The average donor, she says, gives blood about twice a year.

But the need for donations is constant, Miller says, particularly now after early coronavirus-related lockdowns, which caused donations to drop precipitously as blood-drive venues like workplaces and schools shut down and thousands of scheduled drives were canceled across the country.

Blood donations and the Black community

"Every two seconds someone is in need of a blood transfusion,” Miller says, whether because of surgery, an accident, or as part of treatment for cancer or an underlying medical condition.

For Gay, the need for blood donations within the Black community — particularly to treat sickle cell disease — has been a crucial motivator. Transfusions are a key treatment for the disease, which causes misshapen red blood cells and affects an estimated 100,000 people in the United States, most of them of African descent.

Because specific proteins called antigens (found on the surface of red blood cells) vary by race and ethnicity, the ideal match for a Black or African American sickle cell patient is a blood donor from the same background, Miller explains.

And though the American Red Cross needs and welcomes donations of all blood types, Gay says that knowing her blood type is O positive (considered the most-needed type because it is given to patients more than any other) also motivates her to keep donating year after year.

Staying motivated and inspiring others

The foursome most recently gathered for their morning meal and donation in October, which they say felt safe thanks to added coronavirus-related precautions, including mandatory face masks and social distancing within the facility. Gay, Leach, Steveson and McGraw are now choosing a day for their next donation.

The women also want to encourage others to donate, which is why they document their donation days on social media.

Teena Leach says she has specific people she hopes to persuade, including her daughter, her son-in-law and her mother, who is now in her early 80s (the American Red Cross has no upper age limit for donations) — as well as the next generation.

"I was raised with morals of, ‘Don't look for what somebody can do for you; seek out what you can do for somebody,’ “ she says. “This is something we can tell our grandkids as they grow older … and motivate them down the line to do the same thing.”

Sarah Elizabeth Adler is a writer based in Washington, D.C. She has written about science, art and culture for outlets including aarp.org, where she was previously a staff writer, The Atlantic and California magazine.

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