Loretta Blocker and grandson Quinci

Loretta Blocker, 57, started giving blood when she was 18. Her workplace hosted a blood drive every three months and she always donated. Her blood is Type O-positive, the universal donor type. She never really connected the dots as to where that blood ended up, until her grandson Quinci was born in 2005, weighing just 1 pound, 14 ounces.

“After he was born, and him being so tiny … He was subjected to several blood transfusions, ” Blocker said. “It increased my awareness of the need for blood. So, I started giving more on his behalf. And I realized there are a lot of other children in the NICU that need that blood. It was something that just became a passion of mine.”

It wasn’t just her grandson that would need blood, though. Her father was on blood thinners the last few years of his life and that meant that even small cuts could equal a trip to the emergency room and a blood transfusion.

“That just made me want to do more,” Blocker said. “Any chance I had to give, I was happy to do so.”

Blocker has given 40 gallons of blood and 54 units of platelets through the Red Cross. Someone like Quinci could be on the receiving end.

The doctors gave Quinci two hours to live. He spent three months in the NICU and went home weighing 4 pounds. His mother held him for the first time when he was two and a half months old. Now he’s 12 years old and thriving, thanks in part to blood donors.

Many people wonder how they can help and sometimes teens want to give. Parents might be a little nervous, but there are some simple things to note before a teen tries to donate.

Teens can give with parental consent at 16 years old and they must weigh at least 125 pounds. At 17, a donor can give without consent and must weigh 125 pounds or more. At 18, they only need to weigh 110 pounds to give.

Parents should watch to make sure teens eat enough, stay hydrated and get a good night’s sleep the night before a donation. Paulette Nieuwenhof is the executive director for the Arkansas Blood Institute’s Hot Springs and Little Rock areas. She said that drinking enough water is the number one way to ensure that a donor feels well after donating.

Donors are always are tested for iron levels and other vital signs that may preclude them from donating. After donating, donors should refrain from vigorous physical activity for two hours. In the summer months, the risk of heat exhaustion is amplified by blood donation. So stay out of the sun afterward and avoid any sports until the next day.

At Arkansas Blood Institute blood drives in the Hot Springs and Little Rock areas, as well as at the donor center on Shackleford, each donor receives a free ticket to the Little Rock Zoo and a T-shirt in July and August.