McLean Connection

Carolyn Offutt, a resident of the McLean area of 35 years, just donated her 200th pint of blood on Saturday, Sept. 17 at the Red Cross Center on Prosperity Avenue.

This means Offutt has donated 25 gallons of blood in her lifetime.

“When I got to 165, then 180, that’s when I thought to keep going and reach that milestone of 200,” Offutt said. “200 pints, 25 gallons; it just seemed right.”

Offutt first donated blood when she was 18 years old and a Chemistry student at the College of William & Mary. While she stood in line for the Red Cross mobile with her roommate, they made friends with a fellow student, Jim. That student would then go on to introduce Offutt to his best friend a year later, who is now Offutt’s husband of 47 years.

“I will always be grateful to the Red Cross for its role in putting Bill and me together so long ago,” Offutt told the Connection in an e-mail.

SATURDAY MORNING at the Red Cross Center Offutt was in high spirits and carrying a cake to share with everyone at the center in celebration of her milestone.

“I like to help,” Offutt says. “I could donate money, but as a chemist, I understand the value of blood, because it is the one thing we don’t create artificially.”

According to the Red Cross, every 2 seconds someone in the US needs blood, totaling to over 40,000 donations needed in a single day. For example, in a single car accident a victim can require as many as 100 pints of blood, depending on how severe the injury is.

Even though she’s reached her milestone, Offutt said, “I will not stop giving.” Instead, she may consider other ways to donate in the future, like donating double red, which is less frequent.

You can donate blood every 56 days, but double red donations are limited to every 112 days and up to 3 times a year. Offutt is also considering donating platelets, which can be done every 7 days and up to 24 times in a year. For most states, the age limit to donate blood is 17 years old. However, there is no cap on age for seniors who donate blood, as long as they are in good health and can pass all of the screening tests.

Offutt donated every four months in the course of her 30+ year career for the EPA, only taking breaks while pregnant and nursing with her two children. She plans to continue to donate for as long as she can.

There have been some changes over the years in how the Red Cross operates. Offutt witnessed the change from collecting blood in glass bottles to the plastic bags in her lifetime. She said that the snacks the Red Cross provides for donors have changed, too; they used to have things like sandwiches and cookies, whereas now you will find chips, pretzels and other packaged goods.

Offutt has collected many pins and t-shirts over the years in return for her donations. When she reached 20 gallons of donated blood, she asked a friend to help her make a quilt made out of the front of 25 Red Cross T-shirts.

ONE OF HER EARLY MEMORIES and inspirations for becoming an adamant blood donor was the memory of her father at the dinner table with a Red Cross pin on his collar after donating at his office.

Offutt wrote, “I have seen the Red Cross respond to changes in technology for the blood testing and donations, but the nurses will always say, ‘There will be a slight pinch…’, as the needle goes into my vein.”

Some things don’t change. One day doctors hope there will be artificial blood to help patients, but until then, blood donations will always be needed.