July 8th Blood Drive

On July 8th friends and family of Jonathan hosted a blood drive in his name. In total, we collected 187 pints of blood! Seven people also signed up to become organ donors at this event. What an unbelievable show of support!

This was a first experience for me. I had never given blood before. Here is some of what I have learned about the need for blood donations.

• Every three seconds, someone needs a blood transfusion.
• One pint of blood from one donor can save up to three lives.
• 20 percent of blood recipients are children.
• About 60 percent of the population is eligible to donate blood, yet less than 4 percent do.
• At least 500 pints of blood must be collected daily to meet the needs of most hospitals.
• The U.S. imports more than 20 percent of our blood supply.
• The average adult body has 10-12 pints of blood. Doctors say that healthy adults may give regularly because the body quickly replaces the blood you donate

The night ended with a balloon launch in Jonathan’s memory at the Kwiatkowski home. Below is a video (special thanks to Denise Lockwood from caledonia.patch.com for the video!) with pictures from the blood drive and the balloon launch to honor Jonathan's 22nd birthday.

What a successful day making a difference in a positive way! The team from the Red Cross, the Racine Marriott Hotel, family members, friends, neighbors, and even strangers who took their time to "save a life" on July 8th are all incredible people! The Racine community should be proud of all of the blood drive workers and participants.