Thursday, November 20, 2008
Giving blood pays off
A regular blood platelet donor won a trip to a NASCAR race from the American Red Cross.
Photo courtesy of the American Red Cross
Martin Paulson of Draper won an all-expenses-paid trip to a NASCAR race in Phoenix.
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Martin Paulson, a Virginia State Police dispatcher, received a suspicious e-mail informing him that he was a grand prize winner -- he'd be taking an all-expenses-paid trip to Phoenix for a NASCAR race.
Sure, he had just registered for the Red Cross Racing program, and he hoped to win.
But he was a little wary.
He called Mary Jones at the American Red Cross, who usually schedules his platelet donations, hoping to verify that he was indeed a winner.
She gave him the good news.
"I was just as excited as he was," Jones said. "It's always nice when someone local wins this and appreciates the win, and he was just so excited to go on the trip."
"I was awe-struck," said the 44-year-old Paulson, who lives in Draper. "I just couldn't believe we won."
The Red Cross started Red Cross Racing as a way to encourage NASCAR fans to give blood or platelets. Fans can sign up online, then accrue points by donating. The points can be exchanged for Red Cross Racing gear.
One of the grand prizes is the chance to win a drawing for a trip to a race.
Paulson, who has donated double units of platelets regularly for the past four and a half years, estimates that he's given more than 50 platelet units, or just over 12 gallons.
"I started whole blood back in April of 1999 and switched to platelets in May of 2004," he said.
This monthly donation became personal to Paulson when a friend from church was diagnosed with cancer. He knew someone with the same illness would benefit.
Platelets are the part of blood used to help control bleeding and are usually given to leukemia patients or anyone undergoing chemotherapy. The Red Cross needs both whole blood and platelets, but platelet donors seem to be harder to find.
Jennifer Cockram, the automated recruitment supervisor for Red Cross said, "They're both equally needed. We do have fewer [platelet] donors because you may have a stick in both arms and it takes a little longer, and the shelf life is only five days."
To honor this special type of donor, the Red Cross has designated November as recognition month for platelet donors. Local donors are recognized during a dinner held at each of the donation centers in Lynchburg, Roanoke and Blacksburg. Cockram noted that one donor will receive a special award at the Roanoke dinner next week, for donating 450 platelet units.
Paulson chose to take his wife on this trip and their first NASCAR race. The couple not only enjoyed the race in comfort -- from the American Red Cross suite -- but also were also given pit passes. One of the highlights, Paulson said, was meeting Greg Biffle from the Roush Fenway Racing team.
Now that Paulson is home from the vacation of a lifetime, he plans to continue donating. In fact, he's already made his next appointment. And the nurses at the Blacksburg platelet donation center can count on Paulson's regular appointments for a while.
When asked how long he will give platelets, Paulson immediately responded, "As long as I can."
