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Over the past seven years, Margaret “Peggy” Tierney has donated nearly 3.5 gallons of blood at the BWH Blood Donor Center.
“It really doesn’t take much to donate,” said Tierney, a mammographer in the Lee Bell Center for Breast Imaging. “The fact that my donation will help somebody with a serious illness, even save a life, is all I need to know to keep on donating as often as I can.”
Tierney often donates as a walk-in—a person who does not have an appointment—and is usually done within 30 minutes. While donations typically take 15 minutes, the center recommends allowing an hour from start to finish for check-in, confidential eligibility screening, donation and a brief post-donation rest and snack. For those who have schedule concerns, making an appointment is the best way to minimize wait time.
Female donors can be prone to low hematocrit levels, so a few days prior to donating, Tierney eats foods that are good sources of iron, such as dark green vegetables and red meat.
In recognition of Women’s History month, the BWH Blood Donor Center encourages people to donate blood in honor of their mother, sister, grandmother, aunt, niece and friends.
This year, the Joint Program in Transfusion Medicine at Dana-Farber and BWH will transfuse more than 37,000 units of red blood cells and rely on volunteer donors for this. To make an appointment to donate, contact the BWH Blood Donor Center at ext. 2-6620 or e-mail blooddonor@partners.org. Learn more by visiting www.brighamandwomens.org/blooddonation