Jason Burlew is a marketing manager for the Blood Bank of Delmarva and a longtime blood donor.
When I donated blood for the first time in 2004, it was mostly out of curiosity. I was fascinated by the process — the idea that something so personal and simple could have such a powerful impact on someone’s life. For years, I kept donating regularly, driven by the quiet knowledge that I might be helping someone during a difficult time. I never imagined I’d one day be on the receiving end.
In 2021, my world changed with three words: You have cancer. It was adrenal cancer — a rare, aggressive form that starts in the glands sitting atop the kidneys. The tumor in my body was so large that it had to be removed, along with my entire left kidney. I was terrified. The surgery was long and grueling, and during it, I lost so much blood that blood transfusions were the only thing that kept me alive.
I had spent years quietly donating blood through Blood Bank of Delmarva, never thinking much about where it went. But, on that day, it came full circle. I was on the operating table, vulnerable and scared but surviving because someone — someone just like me — had taken the time to give blood.
It’s hard to describe how that moment changes you.
A day rarely goes by when I don’t quietly reflect on my own story and what it means to me. When I made my first donation in 2004, I had never met anyone who had received a transfusion, and I didn’t fully understand the impact of transfusions. Throughout the next 17 years, I continued donating regularly, while never really thinking I would ever need blood myself.
Since my surgery, I’ve made 40 lifetime donations, as well as seven plasma donations in just the last year. My A-Positive blood type is especially valuable for plasma, and I give every month. I choose to donate at Blood Bank of Delmarva, where my plasma helps patients who need transfusions — instead of going to a plasma center, where it would be used for pharmaceutical products.
I had to wait a full year after my operation to donate again, and I made my first postsurgery donation just after that one-year mark, on my birthday. A year before, I wasn’t sure I’d reach it. Donating now is my way of honoring the gift I received — and paying it forward to the next patient who will need it, just like I did.
You never really think something could happen to you until it does — then, you’re happy that there are people out there who give their time for people in need and that their donations are available to you. I made all those donations hoping I could save someone else, and eventually, I was the one who needed blood to survive.
I’ve always believed in giving back, but now, I truly live it every day. Working for the Blood Bank of Delmarva, I’ve made it my mission to spread the word: Blood donation isn’t just important — it’s lifesaving. It saved me.
An organization like BBD is special because of how much I deeply resonate with its mission, and being able to be on the other side by receiving a blood donation just makes my job more important to me. As the marketing manager, I work hard to reach as many people as possible in our community and to really spread the word about the vital importance of donations.
If you’ve ever wondered whether giving blood really matters, I’m living proof that it does. You don’t need a medical degree to save a life. You don’t need millions of dollars. You just need to give an hour of your time. One hour, one arm, one decision to do something selfless. To learn more about hosting a drive or donating blood, visit delmarvablood.org.
Blood donation gave me more than a second chance. It gave me another birthday. Another year with the people I love. More time. And an opportunity to work for an organization that is the reason I am still here.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
