Growing up, my father needed several transfusions because he had stomach ulcers.  As a young adult I decided to become a blood donor to give the gift of life to others that were in need.  After many years of being a regular donor I had no idea that I myself would be in medical crisis and on the receiving end of the blood donation process.

On November 19, 2004 (three weeks post surgery) I went into disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) at home and started hemorrhaging.  On the way to the hospital I remember telling the paramedics that they needed to drive faster because I didn’t think I was going to make it.  Thankfully, the hospital was only five minutes away, but by the time I arrived I had lost so much blood that my heart soon stopped. Over the course of the next three days I needed more than 300 units of blood components before the bleeding was finally under control.

The prognosis for those with DIC is often grim (I was given a 1% chance of survival). Some consider an alternative definition for DIC as “death is coming.”  If it weren’t for the selfless donations of so many people, I wouldn’t be here today.  Because of the gift I was given, my husband has become a regular apheresis donor and my son has become a regular double red cell donor. If you want to find out more about how you can be also be a blood donor you just need to visit Blood Centers of the Pacific’s main website or the Blood Heroes site for center and blood drive times and locations.

If it were possible, I would love to meet every one of the donors who saved my life, give them a hug, and thank them for being my hero.  Won’t you take the time to donate blood today and become a hero?

Spotlight’s On: Denise Sobiek - 2010 02 22

an interview with Napa Center’s Head Nurse/Supervisor, Denise Sobiek, R.N., also known as “Denurse.”

BCP has many departments and hundreds of employees. Do you know the function of each department? Or the role of many of our staff members? Each month, we’ll spotlight a staff member or department. Last month we interviewed Megan Forrest from Shasta. This month, we’d like to introduce you to Denise Sobiek!

What’s your job title? What do you do? And what do you enjoy most about your job with Blood Centers of the Pacific?
I used to work for Irwin Memorial Blood Bank from 1980 – 1986. Those were the days when the Donor History Questionnaire was a 5x8 card with roughly 15 questions. For the past six years, I have been the Napa Center’s Head Nurse/Supervisor. I love nursing and love my position at the Napa Center. I am also a trainer and train the new RNs to be Head Nurses. I work with an excellent group of people.

Being a supervisor leads me to interact with all BCP departments. Most important is my interaction and an open line of communication with my Donor Collections Manager, Lana Dyson, keeping her informed about what goes on at the Napa Center. My main staff include Jennifer Bretta, Apheresis Nurse, and Greg Proell, Donor Technician, along with one other donor collections float staff. The four of us do it all.

Describe your typical day at the Napa Center
My typical day at the Napa Center is my arrival to the center about 30 minutes prior to my punch in time. I am responsible for the entire center. I make sure the janitor has done his job and make sure the temp-regulated storeroom is and has been in compliance overnight. The registration area is readied with the print up of the donor appointment list, the plateletpheresis appointment list, returning voice mail messages and more.

When staff arrive, we have 15 minutes to perform set-up and quality control. I also inform staff of any issues and or memos, reminders, brief team meetings, etc. Our center has six donor chairs, all can be used for WB/Autos/DD. Two of the six chairs are e-chairs for our dedicated plateletpheresis donors. We have six plateletpheresis donors per day. We also have two Alyx DR machines and all of the North Bay staff are excellent Alyx DR recruiters/teachers.

What are the challenges?
The challenge is to keep a controlled smooth flowing center, this I enjoy maintaining. When this challenge is not met, I usually step back and review and analyze the situation to see what I could do different or better. I also ask my staff for their feedback and input.

Anything else to add?
I feel that the Head Nurse sets the tone for the center and enjoying what I do and keeping a positive attitude sure makes a positive difference.