Donors bring fresh blood

By The Daily Progress Staff

Published: July 1, 2008

“I really don’t like needles.

“But if it saves somebody’s life, it’s worth it.”

So says Shannon Lindemann. She and Maisy Pando are the youngest blood donors ever in the state of Virginia.

You go, girls.

A new law went into effect at midnight last night lowering the legal age for blood donors from 17 to 16 with parental consent.

Ms. Pando and Ms. Lindemann, Albemarle High School friends, made prior arrangements to donate at Virginia Blood Services just seconds after the new law took effect.

Ms. Pando’s mother is a phlebotomist at VBS, and Ms. Lindemann’s mother previously worked there.

“I think it is just great,” said Donna Lindemann. “It [takes] 15 minutes. Saves three lives. You can’t beat that.”

VBS currently collects 7,200 blood donations a year. It expects to boost that by 2,000 as a result of the new law.

One reason that VBS, the Red Cross and Inova Blood Services pushed for the legislation is that the pool of eligible blood donors has declined drastically in recent years. Not long ago, about 60 percent of the population was able to give blood. That percentage has shrunk to 37, due to increased travel that puts potential donors at risk of exposure to malaria and mad cow disease.

A new, safe source of blood donations is clearly needed.

Ms. Lindemann and Ms. Pando learned to value blood donations through their mothers’ commitment. Ms. Lindemann also saw the value of blood donations in her own family, when her grandmother needed transfusions after an illness.

Parents may well encourage their children to donate, but VBS also hopes the impact also will flow in the other direction: Parents will see their children’s interest in giving blood and decide to donate along with them.

Kudos to Shannon Lindemann and Maisy Pando for setting an example for both teens and adults to follow.