Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Monica Bice, a 28-year resident of Milford, has been donating blood for more than 20 years.
Bice donates blood to the American Red Cross because she knows there is a great need for it.
Her blood type is O-negative, commonly called the "universal" blood type. O-negative is used in many accident cases and emergency situations where the victim's blood type is unknown.
"The hospitals wouldn't be able to function" if no one donated blood, said Heidi Murphy, director of health and safety at the Kosciusko County Red Cross.
Kosciusko Community Hospital relies solely on the blood the American Red Cross supplies, and without it, no operations could be performed.
Murphy said that without the donation of blood, there would be no source available for emergencies of any kind. She did indicate there are blood banks that pay for blood, but those are "few and far between."
If blood was purchased instead of donated, hospital bills would "go through the roof," said Murphy.
Currently, the hospital charges a small fee for preparation of blood, but there is no cost for the blood itself. The Red Cross does not charge the hospital for the blood because it is donated to them.
In the average month, the Red Cross collects 200 units, or pints, of blood. Since there is a waiting time of 56 days before a person can donate again, that number represents 400 people, like Bice, who donate blood every two months.
Since moving to the Milford area, Bice has donated more than four gallons of blood to the Red Cross.
"It surprises me when they tell me that," said Bice, laughing. "I don't keep track. They do, but I don't."
Bice tries to go every three months when the Red Cross sends out its quarterly reminders. She admits she doesn't always make it, but she tries.
While in some areas people like Bice are rare, Kosciusko County does not have that problem.
"We have quite a few regular donors with unbelievable numbers of gallons," said Murphy.
She indicated the donors at the monthly bloodmobile at Center Lake are usually return customers.
"We're lucky," said Murphy. "we have a lot of good support from our donors."
Some blood types, such as O- negative, are appreciated even more by the Red Cross.
The special aspect of O-negative blood is that it can be used on anyone who needs it, regardless of their blood type.
There is a downside to having O-negative blood, though. When a person has an O-negative blood type, they can receive only O-negative blood during operations and transfusions.
According to the American Red Cross, only 7.7 percent of the population has O-negative blood.
Last week was the 50th anniversary of the American Red Cross Blood Services and it celebrated by having a special anniversary cake at Calvary Methodist Church in Syracuse. In addition, there was a bloodmobile that collected 26 units of blood.
Unfortunately, Bice was unable to attend due to a low level of white blood cells.
When asked if she plans on donating again after her white cell count returns to the appropriate levels, she enthusiastically said, "Oh, yes."
