Dateline DFCI
Dana-Farber's platelet donors reach major milestones
Lou Dittami celebrates his 350th platelet donation with his wife, Pat.
When her young godchild was diagnosed with leukemia, Bertha Brickley wanted to help in any way she could. Her desire and the child's pressing needs led her to Dana-Farber's Kraft Family Blood Donor Center, and 21 years later, she's still coming back.
This past spring, Brickley marked her 450th platelet donation at the Kraft Center with balloons, cake, and yet another 90-minute session. Harvested from donors while they recline in comfortable chairs, platelets are vital blood-clotting agents that are destroyed during chemotherapy. They also benefit organ transplant recipients and researchers seeking to better understand the genetics of cancer and develop new vaccines.
During 2002 alone, the Kraft Center collected 4,830 bags of platelets from nearly 900 donors, including Brickley and 69 others who gave at least 20 times that year. They deliver their "gifts" in the center's state-of-the-art quarters, located in Dana-Farber's original Jimmy Fund Building.
Established in 1983 by Institute Trustee Robert Kraft and his family — who have served as its primary benefactors ever since — the center also has beds where patients and others can give therapeutic white blood cells or stem cells. Patients from both DFCI and its partner Brigham and Women's Hospital benefit from the services and supply.
"As a group, our donors are significantly shortening the days until we find cancer cures," says former Kraft Center Donor Recruiter Lou Goldberg, who, in addition to urging others to give, has been a regular Saturday donor for 15-plus years. "They provide physicians and researchers with much-needed time and materials, and for recipients, their gifts have a value beyond measure. They truly are lifesavers."
Brickley, a Melrose, Mass., retiree whose initial donations helped save her godchild's life, is one of several in this dedicated group to reach milestones this past year. In February, Lou Dittami made his 350th donation, while Frank Sullivan and Goldberg passed the 300 mark in June and July, respectively. There are now more than 100 donors committed to giving every two weeks.
"A platelet donation takes only a little time from me, and then it gives life to others," explains Brickley, who schedules annual spring trips to Florida around Kraft Center appointments to maximize her availability. "I don't have any other investment that pays such big dividends."
For more information, please visit
www.dana-farber.org/how/donateblood.
