Eylin Cerritos, Red Cross Response and Recovery Manager for the LA Region, recalls her childhood in El Salvador where blood donation was a community affair. Now, she advocates for robust blood supplies to save lives. Photo by Mimi Teller/American Red Cross.
By Mimi Teller/American Red Cross
Ever since she was a young girl growing up in El Salvador, American Red Cross Response and Recovery Manager Eylin Cerritos understood the importance of donating blood. When someone in her rural community La Barra de Güija went to the hospital, everyone in the small town knew that family, friends, and neighbors would step forward to donate blood.
“People in my town were always donating blood, it was a big, big thing; I saw it so many times”, Cerritos said. “People would always offer to donate and it left a big impression on me. It was a way they could help, and it was needed.”
It wasn’t until she was a little older that Cerritos learned about the different blood types, and that blood donated by her townsfolk did not go immediately from donor to patient, but instead replaced the existing blood supplies used to assist each patient. Still, Cerritos understood at an early age the value of having people donate blood before someone was in need.
Cerritos has since, blossomed into an advocate for having a robust supply of all blood types available. While a student at Charles R. Drew University, Eylin carried on the values she acquired in childhood and regularly helped organize blood drives for fellow students and the surrounding South L.A. community.
“It’s meaningful for me to donate blood, I’m excited when I have the chance. Next time, I want to try donating platelets.”
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members, and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org/la.
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