Phlebotomist Jill Achard draws a pint of blood from Ray Cleis Tuesday at the Michigan Community Blood Center blood bus in the Anchor Danly parking lot. January is National Blood Donor Month and repeat givers like Cleis help provide enough blood to area hospitals. Photo by Hadley Robinson

ANTRIM COUNTY - Ray Cleis has saved more lives than most. So has Ned Ver Hage.

They aren't police officers, nor fireman, nor currently in the military. But they each regularly donate a pint of blood to area hospitals.

Cleis, of Bellaire, donates about three times a year and after 38 years that amounts to 110 times and 13.5 gallons of blood.

Ver Hage, of Williamsburg, heads over to the Presbyterian Church in Elk Rapids every three months to give a pint of his blood to those who need it.

The blood they give goes to hospitals in the seven-county northwest Michigan region, including Munson Medical Center, Kalkaska Memorial and more. And the Michigan Community Blood Center is the only source of blood for those hospitals, which need it for many procedures.

"There's lots of usages," said Sharon Childs, with the Northwest Michigan chapter of MCBC. "It's mostly car accidents, traumas, chemotherapy patients, cardiac surgeries."

The many usages mean a high demand for blood, and it's important for hospitals to have a constant supply, because the shelf life of certain parts of the blood is only five days.

When blood is drawn, it's separated into three components. The platelets, needed for many different procedures, are the part that has just five days of shelf life.

"You have to keep a constant turnover because that's what cancer patients use," Childs said.

Another component, red cells, are good for 42 days and the third, plasma, last for one year frozen.

"Anybody that gets in a car accident, or any kind of accident can lose a lot of blood," Cleis said. "If these blood banks didn't have blood on hand, people could die."

In the wintertime, especially around the holidays, it's harder to find donors. January is National Blood Donor Month.

"During the holidays, it's always tough. People get busy, they've got lots of family gatherings to go to," Childs said. "A lot of times people get sick and that eliminates them as blood donors."

Motivating factors

Cleis said for him, giving blood is a civic duty. Plus, he's had personal experiences of helping save lives.

He spoke of when his father had surgery, and he banked three pints of blood beforehand to make sure he was set. He was also able to help out when another relative ran into complications during a procedure.

"Several years ago my father-in-law had open-heart surgery," he said. "They hit a bleeder. He lost a ton of blood. They hit everyone they could for a transfer."

Then there is the karmic motivator.

"Who knows? Maybe one day I'll need it," Cleis added.

Cleis works at Anchor Danly, where the blood bus often comes to accept donations. Cleis said many of the employees there donate blood, but he thinks there could be more.

"You'd think we could get a hundred people. The company lets you give on company time. Plus there's free food and juice on the bus," he said with a chuckle.

A good thing going

The participation in Antrim and the surrounding counties has been good the last year and a half. According to Childs, once the organization meets what they need to give to the hospitals, they can resource share to other places that need it.

"When the military can't handle their own supply they go to community blood programs," she said. "We've been able to ship a certain number of units to them."

Childs also said that there are a strong number of people like Ver Hage and Cleis, who repeatedly show up and donate their blood year after year.

"To be able to say our community is supplied by good, repeat donors, that's the best that you could have," Childs said.

Many youth in the community support the cause, and the Red Cross and MCBC go into high schools to draw blood from willing donors. The next American Red Cross blood drive is actually at Central Lake High School, being sponsored by the senior class.

In Michigan, donors have to be at least 17 years old, but the Legislature is currently working on a bill so that 16 years old could give.

"The youth of our community is absolutely amazing," Childs said.

The next blood drive at CLHS is Jan. 21. For updated information on when you can give blood, check out the Antrim County News calendar each week.

Hadley Robinson can be reached at hrobinson@michigannewspapers.com or by calling 231-533-8523.