Burlington man celebrates blood donation milestone

John Oldfield is no stranger to donating platelets, but he was in for a surprise when he arrived at the ImpactLife Blood Center, 3407 E. Agency Street on Tuesday, Nov. 21, to find a box of frosted cookies and small cake sitting at his donor lounge chair.

Atop the cake was a plastic hula girl wearing a grass skirt.

“Whenever (Oldfield) reaches the next milestone, he says, ‘Where are the dancing girls?’” explained Trish Weiland, the donor center recruiter.

Tuesday’s milestone was a big one that staff also celebrated with a “thank you” sign and balloons. 

Officials of the blood center said Oldfield, a Navy veteran who lives in Burlington, has donated 65 gallons of blood, totaling 385 total lifetime blood donations.

Oldfield was as usual cheerful and good-natured about the process, announcing he was about to be stuck with a needle.

For platelet donations, “a machine collects only the platelets and returns the remaining components to the donors,” explained Kirby Winn, marketing director for ImpactLife Blood Center.

Oldfield made his first blood donation when he was in the Navy.

Married with a family, his main motivation to start was to be sure his family had blood available if disaster or illness were to strike. His concern for others also has kept him donating.

“I just kept donating and donating. I donated whole blood until I got to six gallons and decided to get into the pheresis program. I’ve been there ever since,” he said.

“Because platelets are replenished in the body more quickly than red blood cells, donors can give platelets up to 24 times a year. We are fortunate that John has remained in good health over many years and that he has been such a faithful and consistent donor for a long time,” said Winn.

“His donations are used at hospitals across our service region, which includes Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center in West Burlington,” Winn said.

Platelets, said Becky Parker, a registered nurse who is the center’s supervisor, mostly go to help cancer patients.

A steady donor base is critical, Parker explained, because platelets have a shelf life of seven days.

“Burlington does really well but we can always use new donors,” said Parker.

Competition among donors exists, but is the friendly sort.

“(Oldfield) is our highest one here. We have some in the 50s (gallons). Some are competitive; they like to have the highest. The ones who have been giving so often, they get to know each other. It’s really good-natured. They’re all just here to help people,” explained Parker.

During the holiday season, people get busy and donations drop, while accidents and mishaps requiring blood products tend to rise.

Both Parker and Weiland said the center is providing incentives for people to donate. One donor made a lovely T-shirt quilt and gave it to the center for a drawing.

Donating blood, rescheduling to donate blood, and bringing a friend also to donate each earns a chance in the drawing to be held Dec. 1.

ImpactLife also has an online rewards store with T-shirts, mugs, drinking glasses and other items donors can purchase through its rewards program. For example, platelet apheresis earns 150 points. A whole blood donation garners 100 points.

Oldfield is retired from Industrial Services. Besides donating blood he also volunteers for the Red Cross, responding to disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes, anywhere his help is required.

The emergency response vehicle he drives can be dispatched to any part of the country that’s in need.

He is more frequently, however, called in the middle of the night for a local emergency.

The Des Moines County Chapter of the Red Cross does most of its work in Southeast Iowa, providing shelter and aid to those who just lost their home to a fire.

Oldfield is a universal donor with type O-positive blood. On Sept. 21, ImpactLife put out an urgent notice announcing it had less than a one-day supply of both O-negative and O-positive red blood cells, and that other blood products as well were in critically short supply.

“We greatly appreciate his regular visits to our Burlington Donor Center and his dedicated support of our region’s blood supply,” said Winn.

The primary difference between a whole blood and platelet donation is the length of time for the donation, as well as the use of a cell separator.

Pheresis donors are committed to giving at least two hours of their time to complete the process.

Platelets are an important part of the blood clotting process that prevent bleeding and help white cells fight infection.

Patients with cancer, aplastic anemia, leukemia and bleeding disorders often require platelet transfusions because their own are not functioning or not being produced.

With a pheresis donation, the donor can give almost 10 times as many platelets as is possible during a whole blood donation.

This means fewer reactions for patients, because the platelets come from one donor rather than 10 different donors.

Because the human body is constantly replacing platelets, individuals may donate apheresis once a week, up to 24 times a year.

The donors may also donate multiple products if they have a high enough platelet count, thereby helping two or three patients with one donation.

Formerly known as Mississippi Regional Valley Blood Center, which is headquartered in Davenport, the non-profit, independent community blood center has extended into Illinois, Missouri and Wisconsin, and united under one name, ImpactLife, in 2021.

To make an appointment to donate, visit bloodcenter.org.