Monroe Family Has Special Reason to Support We Give Blood Drive at Rutgers University on October 24
(Piscataway, NJ) – Ajay Patel gained a new appreciation for the importance of blood donation after his daughter, Serena, was diagnosed with leukemia in August 2023.
A strong and playful five-year-old who loves the “Frozen” movies and is wise beyond her years, Serena had to undergo many rounds of chemotherapy and later, immunotherapy treatments, to achieve remission. She often needed blood transfusions to bring her platelet, white and red blood cell counts up to acceptable levels before starting each treatment.
“I never thought about how important blood donation is until this happened to my daughter,” Ajay says. “To see her and all of the other patients in the infusion room receiving their treatments, you see how much blood is needed.” To read Serena’s full story, please click HERE.
Since his daughter’s diagnosis, Ajay donates blood whenever he can and urges others to do the same.
The Patel family is encouraging anyone who is eligible to support the We Give Blood Drive on Thursday, October 24 from 12 noon – 6 p.m. at the Rodkin Academic Success Center, 201 Fitch Road, on the Rutgers Busch Campus in Piscataway.
Appointments are strongly encouraged and available at www.rwjbh.org/big10blooddrive. A photo ID is required. Please eat and drink prior to your appointment. All donors ages 17 and older must weigh a minimum of 110 lbs. and have not donated blood within the past 56 days. 16 year old donors can give with parental consent and a minimum weight of 120 lbs. Contact the blood center for a consent form. All donors will receive a t-shirt and a beanie (while supplies last).
Abbott is partnering with the Big Ten Conference and its 18-member university athletic departments, including Rutgers University to boost the U.S. blood supply through a blood donation competition. RWJBarnabas Health is supporting the blood drive on October 24. The We Give Blood Drive will put rivalry and school spirit to the test as all of the schools compete to see who can donate the most blood, positively impacting lives across the country.
"The We Give Blood" initiative is designed to motivate Big Ten students, alumni and fans to donate blood by tapping into school pride and devotion to their teams. Anyone can give as part of the initiative at any blood center or blood drive nationwide. Donations can be logged and counted towards a Big Ten school at bigten.org/abbott.
If anyone is hesitant to donate due to fear of needles or for any other reason, Ajay has a message for them.
“Your blood donation goes a very long way,” Ajay stresses. “When someone has cancer they constantly need blood. It’s not just cancer patients – it’s anyone who comes to the Emergency Department after an accident who needs surgery to save their life. It’s such an incredible act of kindness. From the bottom of my heart, I can’t thank everyone who donates enough.”
The competition comes at a time when the U.S. is experiencing one of the biggest blood shortages in a generation, in part due to the fact that the number of younger donors has declined sharply in recent years. The initiative aims to inspire young people to become life-long donors to ensure a stable blood supply, especially as older adults become unable to donate.
Blood donations are needed for a wide variety of medical reasons, including trauma and accident victims, mothers experiencing complications after childbirth, and individuals receiving cancer treatment. One donation can save up to three lives.