Blood donations top 45 gallons

MOSES LAKE — Three community members are celebrating milestones after donating a combined 400 pints of blood.

Robyn Wicklund donated 20 gallons, Gary Miner donated 15 gallons and Kati Sparr donated 10 gallons to those who need blood.

"That's a lot of units," said phlebotimist and recruiter for Inland Northwest Blood Center Karen Klein. "It takes years to do it."

Twenty gallons alone takes 160 visits, Klein said.

Klein works out of the Columbia Basin site at Samaritan Healthcare in Moses Lake. The site recently increased its hours and days of operation to 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays.

Sparr, from Moses Lake, counted 80 pints donated in 25 years. Her blood type is AB negative, the rarest kind.

Site lead Merry Walker said just half of a percent of the population has AB negative blood.

"It's the most rewarding feeling I've had in my life so far — saving lives," Sparr said.

While in Spokane one time, she received a phone call about a child who needed blood of her type.

"I cried because I just thought, 'I'm helping to save this baby's life,'" Sparr said.

Wicklund, of Soap Lake, said the first time she donated blood she was 18 years old. A radio announcement told of a child at Seattle Children's Hospital who needed blood. She went down to the hospital the same night and donated. She is now 63.

The child and her kept in touch for years.

The number of gallons she donated during the years was something she never paid attention to, Wicklund said.

"I guess it's just something you get in the habit of doing," she said.

Walker said just 5 percent of eligible blood donors in the nation donate, and the center is always looking for new donors.

Klein said new donors are needed to replace those who pass away, move or experience a health issue that prohibits them from donating. The minimum age to donate is 18 years old.

Bone marrow donors are also sought by Inland Northwest. Registration is May 7 to May 21.

For more information, call Inland Northwest Blood Center at 800-423-0151.