DAYTON, Ohio – Beavercreek donor Debbie Besl was so inspired by the premier of the “Big 6 Platelet Challenge” in 2019 she celebrated the six t-shirt designs by making a Big 6 Platelet T-Shirt quilt.  As a loyal platelet donor, Debbie never stops giving, so she kept on quilting.  She created a 2020 Big 6 quilt and presented it to Community Blood Center on Feb. 4 while making her 148^th lifetime donation.

Blankets are in the future for Debbie, because she will soon receive a “Donor for Life” fleece blanket for her 150^th donation milestone. Her husband David recently celebrated his 100^th and made his 110^th in the donor bed near Debbie on the day of the quilt presentation.

Debbie displayed the new quilt on her lap with her 2019 quilt hanging on the wall behind her.  Her 2020 quilt will soon find a place of honor in the apheresis donor room.

“I’m glad to have done it, I had a good time!” said Debbie.  She pointed to the 2019 quilt and talked about it’s journey.

“That was a year ago, I donated it in February of 2020,” she said. “With that one I was actually short a shirt! But If found it at one of the thrift stores. It was the yellow shirt I needed. It’s like it was meant to be!”

That’s part of the motivation behind the Big 6 Challenge.  Donate every two months in the calendar year to collect all six t-shirt designs. If you miss an opportunity, you risk your collection being incomplete. Debbie has been a platelet donor for decades and was glad to see platelet t-shirts making a comeback with the Big 6 Challenge.

“I used to wear my platelet shirts all the time,” she said. “It was back more than 20 years ago. I said, ‘You guys need to do platelet shirts again, people would wear them.’ You get to explain to people what apheresis is and what platelets do. When shirts were back again, I was thrilled!”

Debbie is happy to offer her arms for donating platelets, and her “long arm” quilting machine for turning the t-shits into a decorative blanket. “It’s real quick,” she said of the device.

“The fact that you have the Challenge for a year, and it’s the same thing with this one,” she said about uniqueness of the two quilts.  But she wonders how she will keep the thread going now that the 2021 Big 6 Challenge is taking a new direction.

The 2021 Challenge will offer t-shirts for three gifts, but will switch to socks for March and April, recycle bags for July and August, and mugs for November and December.

“It’s not all shirts this year, she lamented. “I can’t do it this year. But I do have a lot of t-shirts, and I have platelet shirts to use. We’ll see!”

OXFORD, Ohio – Snow blanketed the Miami University campus Feb. 9 as the Armstrong Student Center hosted the first blood drive of the spring semester. Despite a one-hour weather delay as students negotiated snow piles and the return of more in-person classes, the sponsoring MU Equestrian Team was ready to ride to the rescue.

MUET is a frequent sponsor for Community Blood Center. COVID-19 precautions have restricted volunteering at the blood drives, but members helped with recruiting and signed up to donate. Tuesday’s blood drive topped 114% of goal with 68 donors, including 13 first-time donors.

“It’s for the team!” said MUET donor Sarah Forman, a senior from Cincinnati. She was joined by team member Carol Frye, a senior from Branford, Connecticut.  Both are micro-biology majors who share a passion for horseback riding and donating.

“I like donating, and it’s really convenient,” said Carol. “My high school did blood drives where I was able to donate, and the Equestrian Team always sponsors blood drives.”

The nationally recognized MUET club team has about 100 riders at all levels who practice and compete in the disciplines of Dressage, Hunt Seat, and Western.

Like many campus activities, riding has been suspended during the pandemic.  The horses roamed idly at the snow-covered Equestrian Center while a handful of students used plastic sheets to sled down a nearby hill.

“We’re not competing this year,” said Sarah. “Hopefully next fall. I like to practice and love to compete.”

The pandemic impacted but did not stop Miami blood drives.  Despite cancellations in the spring and limitations in the fall, Miami held eight blood drives in 2020 with only a 29% decline in collections.

Miami is CBC’s longest-standing blood drive partner, dating back to the first Greek Week Blood Drive in 1978.  Up until the pandemic, it was CBC’s largest blood drive. The September 2020 blood drive was down 60% but the tradition carried on for the 42^nd year.

Students returned to campus Jan. 20 with optimism for campus life becoming more “normal” as winter turns to spring. “I’ve kind of adjusted to online classes,” said donor Grace Berry, a sophomore from Columbus.

Madison Janky, a sophomore marketing major from Centerville, donates on campus and at the Dayton CBC.  “I only have one in-person class today, and it was actually cancelled as a ‘snow day,’” said Madison. “It’s a lot different with online classes.”

A trend at Miami is to see women students, sororities and organization leading the support for blood drives. At Tuesday’s blood drives female donors outnumbered males by a three-to-one ratio.

Jessica Schneider, an education major from Cleveland made her fifth lifetime donation. “My dad gave blood when I was little all the time,’ said Jessica, a type O donor. “It’s easy and I realize I have good blood!”

Connor Mullaly, a senior political science major from Brighton, Michigan also made his milestone fifth lifetime donation. “It’s easy and it doesn’t take a whole lot of effort on my part,” said Connor. He’s a Residence Advisor, and a triathlete who hasn’t been able to compete since before the pandemic.

“I get to feel good about myself and eat lots of cookies afterwards,” he said about his dedication to Miami blood drives. “It also gives me a good excuse to take a night off from the pool!”