Lifelines (Winter 1999)

Giving Back


	Donor & Volunteer, Helen Winter

She’s a lifesaver. She may be 70 years old, but she’s a lot tougher than most of us. She says what she does is simple, it doesn’t hurt and there’s no reason why anybody shouldn’t do it. But yet, the mere mention of it make some cringe with fear. Donating blood.

“Most men claim to be strong, but just mention a needle, and they get all scared,” said Helen Winter, a regular blood and platelet donor at Blood Centers of the Pacific (BCP). “It’s a lot less painful than a paper cut and there are a lot more things that are worse than that needle.”

In 1949, Helen’s appendix ruptured and she needed 27 units of blood. Fortunately, 27 generous people from her father’s office, whom she didn’t even know, donated this life saving gift.

Since then, Helen has been giving back to the community. She gives a double donation of platelets every two weeks and blood at the downtown San Francisco donor site. And if that isn’t enough, she also became a volunteer at the San Francisco Downtown Donor Site canteen in April 1999.

“Since there wasn’t anybody volunteering at the canteen for a year and I was going there every two weeks, they asked me if I’d like to help out,” said Helen, who can be seen at the San Francisco Downtown Donor Site every Thursday. “I like volunteering and meeting people. I have even managed to turn blood donors into platelet donors too.”

Helen describes herself as a passionate donor. One who donates whenever possible. “Whenever there is a need for it, I try to donate blood - so much so that I have lost track of the number of units I have donated,” she said. “I try to help in any way I can because it gives me a good feeling.”

She also encourages people who haven’t donated blood to do so. “Blood is so needed and it is so easy to give,” said Helen. “You never know when you are going to save someone’s life. Who knows, one day you might be saving your own.”

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