Blood Drive Success

Valentines was a special day because I had the chance to meet many who came out to donate blood yesterday at Mississippi Blood Services. The parking lot was always full and people were constantly walking through the doors. Marshall Ramsey and I signed many shirts and thanked many of those donors. We had so much fun just visiting with each other and talking to those who had given up some of their day to help save a life. If you've never seen a picture of Marshall, here we are hamming it up for the camera. He's a great guy and dear friend. Thanks, Marshall, for being so dedicated to a cause!

I had the chance to interview a heart transplant recipient while I was there. Liz Carpenter was born with a congenital heart defect and needed a transplant several years ago. She received the heart of Lindsey Miller, a Mississippi College student who was killed in a horrible car accident along with two other students four years ago on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. When Liz was telling me her story, her eyes welled up with tears of gratitude. Not only did she receive a new heart, but she had to have 6 units of blood through a transfusion. Liz was there to thank some of the donors who gave a few minutes of their time and were willing to have a close encounter with a needle because she knows first hand the difference blood donors make.

At the close of the day, 457 people had donated blood! Although I know many will benefit from yesterday, including little Landon Arrington (see February 14's blog entry), I think walked away with the biggest blessing of all--watching complete strangers gather to give something to people whom they will never know.