Welcome to the February issue of Blood Drop.

In this Issue

	January's Heroes
	Be Someone's Valentine...and a Hero!
	Matthew's Story

School Program Info

• Schools have hosted 38 drives so far this school year.
• If you would like to submit photos from your school's blood drive, email lbacon@bbd.org
• Nationally, someone needs blood every three seconds!

Contact Information:
Lauren Bacon
School Program Coordinator
302-737-8405 ext. 796
schoolbloodprogram@bbd.org

January's Heroes

Did you know that January was National Blood Donor Month? Thank you to the following schools who hosted life-saving blood drives in January: University of Delaware, Widener University School of Law, Lake Forest High School, and John Dickinson High School. We collected 212 pints of blood, which is 40 more pints than in January 2007! Click here to view blood drive photos, and click here to view results.

February's blood drive schedule is very busy. Don't forget to check back next month to see results and pictures from the blood drives!

Photo Credit: Student blood donor from Dickinson High School.

Be Someone's Valentine...and a Hero!

Make a difference in someone's life this month. Donate blood and encourage others to give the gift of life, also.  Blood Bank of Delmarva needs 370 blood donors every day to ensure that local hospitals have blood for patients. You could be helping a cancer patient, accident victim, or even a newborn baby.  Don't forget to fill out a Hero Card at reception. Each card turned in for your school counts toward your school's total blood donation tally.

Do something special this month....Give Blood!

Matthew's Story

Matthew Gladding is your typical 18-year-old. The Pocomoke High School senior plays tennis, runs track and works as a lifeguard at the YMCA . Looking up at the 6-foot, 6-inch slender teen, one might never guess how a holiday gift in 1994 changed his life forever.

It was two days after Christmas and 5-year-old Matthew was playing with a new toy and eating pretzels. After noticing a clear fluid on the table in front of him, Matthew did what kids do. He sucked up the fluid on the table.

"I remember doing it. It looked like Sprite," he said.

That's the last thing Matthew remembers. What the little boy thought was soda was actually battery fluid that had leaked out from the new toy.

"The next thing I knew I was waking up in the hospital," he added.

The battery fluid had burned his esophagus. Matthew underwent several procedures in the hospital to try and keep his esophagus open so he could breathe. By January of 1996, doctors had removed his esophagus and pulled his stomach up into his chest. He received several blood transfusions.

At the time of the accident, Matthew's mother, Gail, was the girls' basketball coach at Pocomoke High School. When a student on her team heard what happened to Matthew, she arranged a blood drive at the school in honor of Matthew.   She also wanted to raise awareness about the need for blood.

What began as a gesture of solidarity has led Pocomoke High School to be a top donor school for seven consecutive years. Matthew gave blood for the first time at the blood drive in October.

"We can literally take these numbers (of units donated) and multiply them by three, because that's how many people these donors are helping," said Matthew's mother, Gail. "It is an amazing thing when young people show they care - even if they're a little scared of a needle. Our family is so grateful to the people who keep on giving because at one time our son was the one who needed the blood."