09/21/2024
JACOB MARSHALL MEMORIAL BLOOD DRIVE -- The third annual Jacob Marshall Memorial Blood Drive is underway today, Sept. 21, until 3 p.m., at St. Mary’s Elementary School gymnasium, 2 St. Mary’s Hill.
Jacob, a 2020 graduate of Lancaster High School, passed away in March of 2022 from Wilson’s Disease, a rare genetic illness that affected his liver.
Jacob’s family now holds an annual blood drive preceding his birthday every year, along with a basket raffle to help give back to the Ronald McDonald House and Harbor House in Rochester; both organizations housed members of Jacob’s family during his stay at Strong Memorial Hospital. Basket raffle proceeds will be split equally among the two groups.
At last year’s blood drive, there were over 100 baskets and several large-ticket items up for raffle.
“We just want to keep growing it. It helps the family, myself included,” said Jen Belstadt, Jacob’s mother, during a conversation before last year’s blood drive. “It gives us a purpose to keep his legacy going.”
Appointments are not required, but those who choose to donate are encouraged to schedule an appointment online with redcrossblood.org/. To find Jacob’s blood drive, enter sponsor code: IMOJACOB.
Those who participate in the drive are also asked to consider a Power Red blood donation. This process allows someone to donate two units of blood through a process that returns the platelets back into the donor.
To make a power red donation: Male donors must be at least 17 years old, stand 5 foot 1 inches tall and weigh 130 pounds; female donors must be at least 19 years old, stand 5 feet 3 inches tall and weigh at least 150 pounds.
Red blood cells from a Power Red donation will typically be delivered to trauma patients, those suffering from sickle cell anemia, blood loss victims, newborns, and toward blood transfusions during birth.
