At 16 years old, Jupiter Brady-McCullough is at an exciting crossroads in life. A junior in high school, the Ithaca resident is just beginning to consider college and different career paths, including an EMT certification – and this past December, they embarked on an unexpected journey when a Red Cross blood drive was held at their school.
“I was excited because I’m kind of getting to the age where
you can do some things that you couldn’t really do before. So, when I learned
that you could donate at 16, I thought, ‘Oh, cool! Another thing to try!’ I definitely
knew it would be useful to someone and it was my hope that it would make
someone feel better.”
Despite some first-time jitters, Brady-McCullough deemed the appointment a success, thanks to a “pretty decent” snack spread and the fact that they may or may not have missed a less than favorite class (shhh), but it was the information they received after the appointment that started Brady-McCullough on a new path to help patients in need.
“I got super interested in blood donations. I started
researching it a bunch, and then I found out my blood type and I was like, ‘Oh
this is so interesting!’ Then I sort of started ranting to my friend group
about it and got them to start donating, too.”
Brady-McCullough also made a point to download the Red Cross Blood Donor
app which allows users to schedule and manage appointments, track your
blood journey and save time at appointments with RapidPass. By using the app,
they were able to learn their blood type which set them up on the path for
their next blood donation this past winter.
“I read somewhere that I read A-positive is a good platelet
donation type, but there was nowhere near me that has that technology stuff and
I wanted to see how it was. So, I asked my mom if we were going to Costco soon,
because there was a Red Cross place in Rochester to donate platelets. My mom
told me when we were going to Costco and I looked at the schedule, made an
appointment and I went there and I watched a movie while my family shopped, and
that was an even better experience.”
Every
two seconds, someone in the United States is in need of lifesaving blood or
platelets and volunteer donors like Brady-McCullough are the only source. In
fact, approximately 29,000 units of red blood cells are needed every day in the
U.S., and nearly 5,000 units of platelets, that must be used within five days
of a donation, are needed daily. Platelets form the clotting component in blood
and are vital to the treatment of patients battling cancer, chronic diseases
and traumatic injuries.
With such a finite shelf life, the need for blood is
constant but supply can’t always meet demand because only about 3% of age-eligible
people roll up a sleeve to donate yearly. Heading into the summer season, the
American Red Cross critically needs blood as severe weather and record-breaking
travel are expected to continue to impact the ability of donors to give.
On June 4, Brady-McCullough made their third appointment to
donate blood alongside friend Ava, with no plans to stop any time soon.
“I like the feeling of it, to be honest. Spending my time
doing something that would positively impact someone’s life. It gave me a
little surge of happiness. Something about blood donation is like, ‘Here I am,
and I am helping someone else in their life.’ I think it is one of the better
decisions I’ve made in my life and I think it’s an easy enough thing to fit
into your schedule. And if I hear of another Costco trip, I’ll be like, ‘Hey, let’s
go!’”
You can help patients in need this summer by making blood
donation a priority, just like Jupiter, by visiting RedCrossBlood.org,
calling 1-800 RED CROSS, or using the free Red Cross Blood Donor
app.
Written by: Meg Rossman, Regional Communications Manager, American Red Cross of WNY
