Generous donor

Alice Gazaway’s blood donations

reached a total of 20 gallons
   Alice Gazaway has always been squeamish around needles.
   So when the Manville woman was asked to participate in a blood drive 27 years ago to help an area girl who had leukemia, her first reaction was "no, not me."
   Then someone asked her how she would feel if her children needed blood and no one would donate. Her son, Ron, and daughter, Traci, were in elementary school at the time, and she put aside her fear of needles and signed up to give blood at Somerset Medical Center.
   Since then, she has been coming back to the medical center’s Blood Donor Room every two months, donating a total of 20 gallons of blood to be used by patients at the medical center. Now a grandmother of two, she is the medical center’s second blood donor to reach the 20-gallon milestone and was recently honored by the medical center for her achievement.
   "Your 20 gallons have gone to tremendously good use for the patients that we serve," said Sharon Holswade, Somerset Medical Center’s chief operating officer who thanked Gazaway for her dedication and presented her with an engraved clock as a sign of the medical center’s appreciation.
   "Just knowing that I helped people is enough of a reward," said Ms. Gazaway, who works in the records department of the Bridgewater Police Department.
   Only once in all her years of donating blood has Ms. Gazaway had the chance to meet the person who benefited from her donation. One day several years ago when she came to give blood, she overheard another woman crying. She learned that the elderly woman had tried to donate blood she would need for an upcoming hip surgery, but because of a health issue or a problem with her blood, she was unable to do so. Ms. Gazaway found out her blood was compatible with the woman’s and asked that her blood be given to her. The woman later sent Ms. Gazaway a thank you note, letting her know that everything had gone well with her surgery.
   Although she has not met the countless other patients who received her blood, she is comforted to know that she has given a little part of herself to others. She likes to think that she is also spreading her Polish heritage through her blood donations.
   "I wonder if there’s a lot of people out there craving pierogies now," she joked.
   Ms. Gazaway encourages others to come forward and donate blood.
   "It only takes a few minutes of your time and you could be helping someone for a lifetime," she said.
   Nine out of 10 people will need blood at some point in their lives and 85 percent of Americans will need a transfusion by the age of 75, according to national statistics.
   "The need for blood is often greater than the number of donors, especially now during the summer months when many of our donors are away on vacation," said Beverly Robinson, supervisor of Somerset Medical Center’s Blood Donor Room.
   Blood donors must be at least 17 years of age and weigh at least 110 pounds. Appointments are available at Somerset Medical Center’s Blood Donor Room from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays; 8:30 a.m. to 8p.m. Wednesdays; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays; and 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays. For an appointment, call 685-2926. For more information about blood donation, visit Somerset Medical Center’s Web site atsomersetmedicalcenter.com.