‘Costs nothing, gives everything’: Santa donates blood in Kalamazoo
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — Hundreds of people donated blood in Kalamazoo Saturday — including Santa Claus himself.
It was all part of the 38th annual American Red Cross Holiday Blood Drive. In Kalamazoo, the event ran from 8 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. at the Radisson Plaza Hotel.
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Adam Castle, executive director of the Red Cross Southwest Michigan Chapter, told News 8 that the blood drive was held in memory of an important local figure.
“Since 2015, it’s been held in honor of (Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety) Sgt. Lisa Zuk, who passed away from breast cancer and was a longtime advocate for blood donations, as well as the Red Cross,” he said.
According to Castle, donations are especially needed during the holidays.
“Someone needs blood products in the United States every two seconds,” he explained. “And this time of year, it can be challenging to keep up an adequate blood supply, due to the illnesses and holiday travel.”
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It only takes an hour to donate blood, and your donation can save up to three lives, according to Castle.
“It’s one of those things where it costs nothing and gives everything,” Santa said after giving blood.
He told News 8 he “didn’t feel a thing.”
“A lot of people think about first responders, our police force, our fire department, the military, and they think about them keeping us safe. But this process with the Red Cross — everyone who donates is a lifesaver, potentially,” Santa said. “It is the easiest way to give. And this is the giving season. This is the time to do it. But you know what? You can do it all year long.”
If you’d like to make an appointment to donate blood, you can visit redcrossblood.org.
Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled the name of Adam Castle, executive director of the Red Cross Southwest Michigan Chapter. We regret the error, which has been fixed.
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