LifeStream's "Leading Lady"

IE local Vendela, “Vendy” Martin, LifeStream’s “leading lady” in blood donations, became the third person in LifeStream history, and the first female, to reach 100 gallons in blood donations when she gave blood Tuesday, April 15th at LifeStream’s San Bernardino Donor Center. Martin donated platelets using the apheresis (automated) collection procedure. Platelets can be collected up to 24 times per year. She first donated blood when her son’s school PTA organized a blood drive to honor a student undergoing open-heart surgery. Since then, she has donated blood for 45 years, first as a regular whole-blood donor before converting in 1988 to apheresis donation. Apheresis procedures isolate one or more components of blood for collection while returning the remainder to the donor. Martin first thought about reaching 100 gallons when she had 10 gallons to go. She recalled that only two other LifeStream donors had donated more than 100 gallons of blood. “I thought, ‘if they can do it, so can I,’” she says. Martin calls Tuesday her “blood day.” Moments before her landmark donation, she followed the same procedure all blood donors do each time they donate – register with photo ID, then go through the screening process and mini-physical to ensure she was healthy enough to donate. Following her donation, Martin had one modest request that addressed her updated status on LifeStream’s Donor Wall of Honor. The wall lists donors who have given 10 gallons or more of blood. “Maybe my nameplate can be changed to pink?”