Oak Lawn man marks 350th blood donation
Since the late 1980s, William “Bill” Ward, of Oak Lawn, has been giving blood like clockwork.
In fact, he began donating in 1987 right around the time Vitalant — then known as LifeSource — started taking donations. He started simply because a co-worker at Harris Trust & Savings Bank in downtown Chicago mentioned she gave blood. He thought it sounded “different” and he would give it a try.
Ward over time wound up giving around 47 units of whole blood, which can be donated every eight weeks, through hospitals such as Holy Cross and Rush in the city, as well as Christ in Oak Lawn. Then he switched to platelet donations, which can be given every two weeks. Ward, still working at the time, went monthly.
“Then I retired in 2002, and I’ve done more donations,” Ward said. “Now, I do it every couple weeks.”
Ward, 73, has continued to make fortnightly visits to the Vitalant Donation Center in Oak Lawn, where he marked his 350th donation last week. He has been donating there, specifically, since 1999.
“There’s a shortage of blood all the time, not just at holidays,” Ward said of why he has stuck with it for so long. “Blood is needed all the time. There’s accidents every day.”
Ward said any type of blood donation is good, but he chooses to do platelets because he can donate up to three units at a time to help more people. It is an automated donation process that removes the platelets — tiny cells that can help fix tears in the circulatory system, among other things — and leaves the rest of the blood.
The process means roughly 90 minutes in a chair for Ward every other week. But he said it is a great way to catch up on movies. During his milestone donation, which Vitalant celebrated with balloons and a giant cookie, Ward took in “Noah,” starring Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly and Emma Watson.
“I like adventures,” Ward said.
Ward added with a laugh that at this point he has seen “most of the ones they’ve got here.”
About 50% of donated platelets tend to go to cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy. But they are also used for surgical patients, people undergoing organ transplants and trauma patients, according to Holly Seese, Vitalant’s marketing lead.
“Platelet donations are very important to what we do,” Seese said. “Platelets are used as a clotting factor, to help the blood clot.
“But they only last five days in storage. With only five days on the shelf, we need a constant supply of them. People like Bill that come in almost every two weeks to give platelets … it means a lot to us, because it keeps that supply of platelets steady.”
But there are not too many people quite like Ward, whose 350 mark may be an underestimate, with records only dating back so far, Seese said. There are many who donate with regularity, she said, but to have done so as long as Ward has is to be in rarefied air.
“We get a lot of people who come in regularly,” Seese said. “Our regular donors, gosh, we love them so much. They’re like part of the family.
“As far as hitting a number of 350 like Bill’s? No, we don’t get very many of those.”
Seese said the regulars are as important now as they have ever been, as the seasons change on a uniquely challenging year. But Vitalant can always use new donors to bolster the efforts of people such as Ward. Those can be harder to find these days, as mobile blood drives have been limited by COVID-19 restrictions.
“We’re still in the pandemic,” Seese said. “Lots of places still aren’t open to do mobile blood drives. … We’ve seen the numbers declining over the last month, two months. People were good during the summer. We’re getting a little nervous as we head into fall and the holiday season.”
Ward said he tries to encourage anyone who will listen to donate blood. He also encouraged co-workers and friends to do it, but said he understands not everyone can make the same kind of time commitment. His wife still gives whole blood donations roughly every eight weeks. All of it helps, he said.
“More people should do it,” he said. “I think everyone should if they can. I’m a Vietnam veteran. We needed the blood all the time. I just think everybody should do it.”
Bill Jones is a freelance reporter for the Daily South- town.