Kimberly Zambito

Kimberly Zambito loved her grandfather, who died of cancer. He is often in her mind when she is donating platelets. "What's a little stick with a needle compared to the pain people with cancer feel? What's two hours out of my day compared to the time they have to spend in the hospital." For Kim, donating is a way to help others, and it's also part of living a healthy life. As a competitive athlete, she trains regularly and eats carefully. She knows that her health is what enables her to donate.

Kim is a pre-med student and a member of the collegiate cycling team. She is also a regular platelet donor. "I'm using my life and my health to give someone else a chance to be healthy." Kim donates platelets through an automated process called apheresis. Her platelets are collected and the rest of her blood is returned to her.

Staff members at the regional blood center make Kim feel welcome and important. "They tell you about someone who needs your platelets. That makes donating a more personal thing. As a donor, they make you feel special." Kim often brings books to the center and uses her time there to study. Since she has one arm free, she can easily turn the pages.

"I am a student and don't have much money to give to help others. But I do have my health. By donating platelets, I help out in my own little way." People like Kim who are willing and able to donate blood components are a precious - and finite- resource. Conserving this resource is a vital part of Haemonetics' corporate mission.

Meeting the strong demand for blood components (platelets is particular) is not an easy task. Blood centers need to reach out to potential donors, to maximize the yield from each donation, and to create an environment that encourages donors to return again and again. Haemonetics works with blood center customers to help them succeed in each of these endeavors. That is one of the reasons why people like Kim Zambito choose to become regular donors of blood components.

Derek Taylor

Derek Taylor first donated platelets to help a fellow marathon runner in her battle with leukemia. Derek's friend was about to undergo a bone marrow transplant, and she needed platelets from donors during the months when her own bone marrow was not producing them. When members of the local running club were asked to help, Derek responded and became an apheresis platelet donor.

Derek had donated whole blood in college, but he had never given platelets before. He began donating platelets for his friend. Now that she is recovering, he continues to give for "friends" he doesn't know.

On one occasion, he was called by the blood center in an emergency to donate platelets for a five-week-old baby. "That was someone whose life hadn't even started, who hadn't even taken that first step and whose life was at risk. What if I had not been there to donate?"

Derek enjoys the relaxed atmosphere of the blood center and appreciates the staff's attentiveness. "Everyone knows your name and makes sure you feel comfortable. Donating platelets and plasma is something I feel I need to do - giving others what I have for myself. It's something I'll do for the rest of my life."