Albemarle teens to make history with kindness

By Brian McNeill

Published: June 29, 2008

At one minute past midnight tonight, two Albemarle County teenagers will become the youngest blood donors in Virginia’s history.

The two 16-year-old Albemarle High School students — Maisy Pando and Shannon Lindemann — will give blood seconds after a new state law goes into effect that allows 16-year-olds to donate.

“I really don’t like needles,” Lindemann said. “But if it saves somebody’s life, I think it’s worth it.”

Pando and Lindemann will donate at Virginia Blood Services’ clinic on Hydraulic Road, which will be open for the teenagers’ inaugural blood donation. VBS is the sole supplier of blood to Martha Jefferson Hospital and the University of Virginia Medical Center.

Pando’s mother is a phlebotomist at the Hydraulic Road blood donation center. Lindemann’s mother previously worked at the clinic for eight years.

“I’m real proud of her,” said Pando’s mother, Kristin Rexter. “She used to tag along when I’d donate platelets before I started working here. She’s been asking to get stuck for a long time.”

The two friends will be the first among thousands of Virginia 16-year-olds who are expected to donate blood in the coming years.

The new law — which was sponsored by Del. John M. O’Bannon III of Richmond and unanimously approved by the General Assembly earlier this year — lowered the minimum age to give blood statewide from 17 to 16. Under the new law, any 16-year-olds wishing to donate must have written parental consent.

The bill was filed in early January at the request of Virginia Blood Services, Inova Blood Services and the Red Cross.

By enacting the new rule, Virginia joins 20 other states that have set 16 as the minimum blood donation age.

Blood collection agencies across the country are increasingly relying on young donors, with nearly 15 percent of the nation’s blood supply coming from donors ages 16 to 19.

However, new research indicates that teenagers are more likely to experience complications from donating blood. A study released in May by the American Red Cross found that teen donors were more likely than older donors to get dizzy, fall, faint and get needle-related bruising. Such complications are rare, the study noted.

In Virginia, the new minimum donation age will increase the pool of potential high school blood donors by 30 percent.

Currently, Virginia Blood Services collects 7,200 blood donations per year from high school students around the state. The agency anticipates that the new law will lead to an additional 2,000 donations each year.

Only 37 percent of Americans are eligible to donate blood. Just a few years ago, that figure was closer to 60 percent. Fewer people are permitted to donate as additional travel restrictions have been added to the deferral list to minimize the risk of malaria and mad cow disease.

Brian Chandler of Virginia Blood Services said the new law will open an important new stream of blood donors, potentially saving many more lives.

“We felt it was critically important for Virginia Blood Services and other donation centers around the state to find new categories of blood donors,” he said.

Chandler said that Virginia Blood Services is hoping parents will donate alongside their teenagers.

“We think it’d be an excellent opportunity for parents and children to do something positive together,” he said.

Roughly one out of every five patients entering a hospital needs blood. The lives of an estimated 4.5 million Americans each years are saved or improved thanks to blood transfusions, according to Virginia Blood Services.

Pando, who is a bit shy from all the hubbub over her decision to donate, said she intends to become a regular donor, giving blood every eight weeks.

Lindemann, on the other hand, plans to donate occasionally.

“I’ll give, but maybe not as much as her,” she said, clearly a bit apprehensive about the part of donating blood that involves a sharp needle.

She wanted to give blood, she said, because her great-grandmother recently suffered an aortic aneurysm. During her treatment, Lindemann saw the importance of donated blood in saving lives.

Lindemann’s mother, Donna, said she is proud of her daughter’s decision to donate.

“I think it’s just great,” she said. “It [takes] 15 minutes. Save three lives. You can’t be that.”

Any 16-year-olds interested in donating can find the required parental consent form on Virginia Blood Services’ Web site at http://www.vablood.org.