Billy Sanford - proud donor for over 30 years
My name is Billy Sanford, and this is why I Donate Blood.
My blood donation journey started as a high school senior in the mid-eighties. Upon donating for the first time, I learned I had the rare blood type O Negative. This puts me in a special group of people. Those of us with my blood are considered universal donors, which means anyone can receive it. While I knew all blood donations were important, I learned that only 7% of the world’s population share my blood type. So, you can imagine blood banks always like to have some on hand.
Over the course of my life, I’ve been involved with numerous volunteer organizations. They addressed everything from hunger, education, senior living, mental health, housing and even animal rescue. While their goals were varied, I realized all of these organizations shared on thing in common – a need for people to share their time or money (sometimes both) to make a difference in their community. I chose to continue donating blood because it did something time and money couldn’t - My blood was saving lives when someone needed it the most.
Over the last few years, saving lives with my donations has become increasingly important to me. Now with the recent shortfalls in supply, my rare blood type has become that much more vital to helping people in life-threatening situations. Our blood is the one thing that truly unites us all despite our differing circumstances. I feel blessed to be in a position to potentially help so many different people and hope that one day, you will too.
To schedule your appointment to donate, click here: https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/find-drive
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