(KPTM Fox 42, Omaha, NE) - Meghan Youker - Donating blood gets more personal, thanks to a two-year joint project between the American Red Cross and the Nebraska Medical Center.It gives donors some basic information about the patients who get their blood. People are getting thank you cards in the mail, whenever their donations are used at the Nebraska Medical Center.
The Red Cross says the cards make donors more committed and motivate them to give regularly.
You'll find Jim Braden in a seat at the Red Cross every two weeks. He's been giving blood for more than 20 years.
Now Braden's platelets help cancer patients and people suffering from blood disorders. He says he's gotten several thank you cards in the mail. "My platelets have gone towards children and adults alike. And it is kind of neat to receive that," Braden said.
Every time someone gives the Red Cross tracks the donation, and so does the Nebraska Medical Center.
Later, a donor is told their blood went to, for example, a 51-year-old male who got a pancreas transplant. "It just kind of hits home that people in our community really do need blood products and it helps them feel like spending that hour or two hours in the chair is really worth it to help save a life," said Danelle Schlegelmilch of the American Red Cross.
Workers say they get calls, emails and even hand written notes from donors who appreciate the extra information. For Braden, it makes the process even more rewarding. "I'd encourage anybody if you have the time to do it, it's really not that big of a deal," Braden said.
The Red Cross hopes the project inspires others to give and give often. "With each donation you know, you're potentially saving lives, so it's pretty cool that just in a short time you can give back so much," Schlegelmilch said.
Of the 80 hospitals the Omaha-based region of the Red Cross supplies, the Nebraska Medical Center gets most blood. Right now it's the only hospital participating in the thank you program.
The Red Cross says in the coming months, two more area health systems are joining the project.