62 Years, 120 Pints: Local Woman Reaches Blood Donation Milestone
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STEUBENVILLE -- Jeanne D'Anniballe has been donating blood for many decades.
On Thursday, she reached a personal milestone.
A pint D'Anniballe donated was the 120th she has given during the past 62 years. That works out to 15 gallons of blood.
She said she never really set out to reach that mark when she started donating blood at age 18.
"My sister and I would give occasionally," D'Anniballe said while reclining on a cot in the Crimson Center at Steubenville High School, shortly after Red Cross technicians had hooked her up and the donation process had started. "It was here and there, if I could find a blood drive close by."
D'Anniballe said the location of the drive was special for her. She was an art teacher for 23 years in the Steubenville City School system, 14 years at Harding Middle School and nine at the high school.
"It wasn’t such a big deal then that I had to give to every blood drive," she added. "When I taught here, I always gave when they had a blood drive, but it was no big deal -- until my sister needed blood.
"She said that it saved her life, and after that, I was determined that I was going to give as often as I possible could," she added. "That’s why I got to my big number."
A donation of 1 pint of blood can help save as many as three lives, according to the American Red Cross. That means it is possible that someone who has donated an amount like D'Anniballe has could have helped save the lives of 360 people.
She’s one of an estimated 6.8 million people across the United States who give blood each year. Those donations are vitally important. According to the Red Cross, someone in the United States needs blood or platelets every two seconds and approximately 29,000 units of red blood cells are needed every day.
A car accident victim could require as many as 100 units of blood, according to the Red Cross. Blood also is needed for emergency and elective surgeries and for some people who undergo chemotherapy treatment after being diagnosed with cancer.
"It really helped my sister," D'Anniballe said. "She was in the hospital, and I don’t know when she would have gotten out if she didn’t get blood, so yes, it’s a good thing to do. It only takes an hour -- and it only hurts for about three seconds when they put the needle in."
The Red Cross, which provides about 40% of the nation’s blood and blood components, said only about 3% of age-eligible people donate blood each year. That can sometimes lead to stress in the system, as it did at the end of July when lower-than-normal summer donation numbers led the organization to declare a national blood supply crisis, the second in its history.
D'Anniballe said giving blood during drives at the high school is important to her because that is where she taught.
"When I was teaching here, I would make a badge that let the students know if they had questions about a blood drive they could come and see me," she explained. "Kids would come and ask me questions, and that was cute, because some of the girls would come in, and, at the time, you had to weigh 105 pounds to give, and I’d look at them and say ‘I don’t think you can give yet -- wait until next year.’ But you know, they’d really ask cute questions.
"I loved answering their questions, and telling them that just when they are going to put the needle in, just turn away," she continued.
Generally, donors in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania need to be at least 17, though all three states allow 16-year-olds to donate with permission from their parents. Donors also must weigh at least 110 pounds and be in good health. Donations can be made every 56 days, according to the Red Cross.
"It’s just rewarding, knowing that you help somebody," D'Anniballe said. "Eventually you will hear about somebody who needed blood, and it’s like you are really paying it forward a lot."