Sausage is the secret ingredient at Veterans Day blood drive

WINCHESTER — Many veterans have spilled blood to protect their fellow Americans, and some of them are still doing it.

A Veterans Day blood drive held Friday at West Oaks Farm Market, 4305 Middle Road near Winchester, was one of the most well-attended in months, with veterans and civilians alike rolling up their sleeves to help replenish the American Red Cross’ blood supplies.

“This is always a well-received blood drive,” said Lisa Wilt, account manager for the Greater Shenandoah Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross in Winchester. “This day is about honoring the veterans.”

“We check their [health] backgrounds, get some vital signs and make sure that they’re eligible to donate,” Gunny Khan, a former Marine and current collections specialist level 2 with the Greater Shenandoah Valley Chapter, said as he prepared to draw blood from donor Scott Taylor of Stephens City. “Once they’re set, they come out to a table and we do the phlebotomy on them.”

Taylor, a Navy veteran, said he is a frequent blood donor who rolls up his sleeve whenever he can work it into his schedule, which most recently was Friday morning.

“I called and said, ‘What have you got open?’ They said, ‘We’ve got this at West Oaks.’ And I said, ‘Perfect,'” Taylor said. “It coincidentally happened to be Veterans Day.”

And what a lucky coincidence it was. The Veterans Day blood drive at West Oaks Farm Market was sponsored by Gore’s Meats of Stephens City, which embellished the standard post-donation offerings of cookies and juice with sausage, gravy, biscuits and burgers to help donors rebuild their energy.

“I didn’t just come out for Veterans Day; I came for the biscuits and gravy,” Taylor joked.

Kylie Gore of Gore’s Meats said there was a simple reason her family’s business went above and beyond to treat veterans and other donors.

“We are very thankful for our local veterans’ sacrifice and service, no matter if it was 60 years ago or yesterday,” Gore said. “We want to say thank you, and provide a platform for the community to say thank you by donating a pint of blood.”

She said Navy Federal Credit Union also helped the cause by donating donuts, coffee and hot chocolate for the participants, and Sweet Tooth Bakery of Winchester sent over dozens of snickerdoodle and chocolate chip cookies.

Leslie Caliva, community volunteer leader for the Greater Shenandoah Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, said the Gore family also collected drawings and handmade signs from local school children that showed how much they appreciate the men and women who served in America’s armed forces.

“We want to give back to them as opposed to them giving back to us,” Caliva said. “People really enjoy this blood drive. … This is our seventh annual and it gets better every year.”

Connor Grafton-Tempel, an employee of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Winchester, was one of the first to donate blood on Friday morning.

“I have O-positive blood and O types are pretty rare, so when I can, I go to the Red Cross or a similar group to donate blood,” Grafton-Tempel said, noting he has given about four gallons of his O-positive blood over the years.

The next blood drive organized by the Greater Shenandoah Valley Chapter will be on Nov. 27 at Open Door Baptist Church in Clear Brook, but you don’t have to wait until then to offer a pint. The American Red Cross operates a blood donation center at 561 Fortress Drive in Winchester that is open 1-7 p.m. Tuesdays, noon-6 p.m. Thursdays and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Fridays. To make an appointment, visit redcrossblood.org or call 800-733-2767.

To donate whole blood, you have to be in good health and feeling well, be at least 16 years old and weigh at least 110 pounds. Donations can be made once every 56 days, up to six times a year.

To donate Power Red blood, you must be in good health and feeling well. Men must be at least 17 years old, at least 5 feet 1 inch tall and weigh 130 pounds or more. Women must be at least 19 years old, at least 5 feet 3 inches tall and weigh 150 pounds or more. Power Red donations, which collect two units of red blood cells while returning plasma and platelets to the body, can be made every 112 days, up to three times a year.

For more information, visit redcross.org.