More than 60 gracious donors showed up at the LightHouse headquarters to give blood at our 6th Annual Bay Area Blind Community Blood Drive this month. We collected 56 total units of blood, which helps approximately 168 patients in need. We also welcomed cameras from ABC7 News, who did a terrific little story about the drive which you can check out below. Thank you to everyone who came out to donate and support!
Don’t miss our next blood drive on May 31.
Our annual blood drive is a much anticipated event each year, held in conjunction with the American Red Cross. We have so many eager participants that we often have to turn donors away when the slots fill up. Because of this, we’ve decided to hold two more blood drives this year, on May 31 and again in October. We hope you’ll join us!
The beauty of our blood drive is that blind and sighted donors are giving side-by-side, and all blood donated benefits anyone in need, regardless of sight. Though many don’t realize it, it’s a unique dynamic.
“The idea of a community of blind people rolling up their sleeves and giving back to a society that often thinks of them as charity cases, well, it’s just great to give back in such a life-affirming way,” said Martinez.
And though many don’t realize it, it’s a uniquely equalizing dynamic in a world that often stigmatizes blindness to the point of misinformation.
“In areas around the world, blind people would not be welcomed if they wanted to donate blood,” said Martinez. “We know that blind people are a cross-section of society and that blood coming from a blind person is no different than that of blood coming from a sighted person.”
A heartfelt thank you to the donors who came out this year, we hope to see you again in May or October this year!
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