Versiti Blood Center of Ohio - Dayton

Thank you, donors!

Have you heard? Solvita Blood Center is now Versiti Blood Center of Ohio. As a part of Versiti, we will continue serving patients and honoring donors in Dayton and across our 18-country service area. We hope you will schedule your donation today and be a lifesaver.

https://donate.versitidayton.org/

Big News!

Your community blood center is returning to our roots—now with the strength of Versiti behind us! Solvita Blood Center is now a part of Versiti Blood Center of Ohio, bringing even more resources to support lifesaving donations in our community.

With Versiti's expertise and inspiring mission and our longstanding commitment to supporting our own, we’ll continue serving local hospitals and patients, stronger than ever. Ready to make a difference? Schedule your donation today and help us save lives!

➡️ https://donate.versitidayton.org/

NO CHANCE? MURIEL MAKES MILESTONE HAPPEN
Beavercreek donor Muriel Shures knows her blood donations often go to infants, and that made her milestone 100th lifetime donation Oct. 25 at the Solvita Dayton Center especially satisfying. “It feels great,” she said. “Especially when my blood goes to pediatric patients. Otherwise, I don’t know if I would be so faithful.”
Muriel is a type O-negative “universal donor” and a CMV-negative “baby donor.” That means she has never been exposed to the Cytomegalovirus, a common and generally harmless flu-like virus for adults that can be fatal to babies. For this reason, pediatric patients require CMV-negative transfusions.
Muriel started donating at age 17 after graduating from high school. “I was training to be an X-ray technician at St. Luke Hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts,” she said. “My husband was in the Air Force. We donated wherever we lived, and we ended up here.”
She started donating with the former Community Blood Center in 1986, when she considered she had “no chance” of donating more than 100 times. Reaching the milestone was a pleasant surprise. “I realized it was doable,” she said, “and I made sure I was on it!”

JIM WAS MOTIVIATED TO HIT 100!
“I was motivated to hit it, Arcanum donor James “Jim” Taylor said of the milestone 100the lifetime donation he accomplished on Oct. 25 at the Solvita Dayton Center. “I got close, and I thought I’ve got to keep going.”
Jim said he began donating in 1981. He served in the U.S. Navy and began an apprenticeship with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). “I moved here, and the union had a blood drive,” he said. “You could give blood and get a day of school credit. I did that, but I noticed not that many give blood, and I wondered why.”
Jim retired in 2017, but he remembers how challenging it could be to donate when working 10-12 hour days. “I couldn’t get down here to do it,” he said, “but once I got back in town, I would get it scheduled in my phone, every eight weeks, and I try to hit it. Now I want to hit that 200!”

BIG DAY AT ST. MICHAEL'S, BIT MILESTONE FOR FRANK
Fort Loramie donor Frank Turner made his milestone 200th lifetime donation Oct. 15 at his favorite place to donate, the St. Michael’s Hall blood drive. Frank has been donating whole blood for more than 30 years. He has supported St. Remy’s, Houston, Sacred Heart, and Midmark community blood drives, but he has been donating exclusively at St. Michael’s Hall since the beginning of the every-two-months, six blood drives per year schedule.
The Oct. 15 St. Michael’s Hall Blood Drive results totaled 244 donors, including 227 whole blood registrations, 203 whole blood donations, five first time donors, and 17 platelet and plasma donors. It was another outstanding day at St. Michael’s Hall, thanks to “Donors for Life” like Frank Tuner.

Pirates boarded the Bloodmobile at the Parker Hannifin blood drive. It was cats and hard hats this Halloween at the Belden Division blood drive!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Donating on Halloween? Follow the yellow brick road to the Solvita Dayton Center to meet Dorothy, Toto, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Wicked Witch of the West! Dorothy also has a day job, helping keep things organized at the blood center, and so does Zach the Cowboy. Doug wore a vintage Halloween donor t-shirt to volunteer in the Donor Café. Don’t be surprised when you call to make a donation appointment to find out you are speaking with Batwoman, a Swiftie, Father Guido Sarducci from Saturday Night Live, a Hippie or a Cowgirl!

FORGET DISNEY! SETH & ALYSE ARE GOING TO ‘THE GAME!’
Dayton donor Seth Ashlock and his wife Alyse love Disney World and try to visit at least once a year. But they’re not going to Disney for their next great adventure. They’re going to “The Game” to see Ohio State take on Michigan Nov. 30 in “The Shoe.”
Seth is the winner of the Solvita October donor drawing for two tickets to OSU vs. Michigan. Everyone who registered to donate at any Solvita blood drive from Sept. 30 to Oct. 26 was automatically entered in the drawing. Seth entered the contest when he made his 10th lifetime donation on Oct. 4 at the Solvita Kettering Research Park employee blood drive.
The prize of “The Game” tickets helped encourage 8,068 donor registrations, including 7,056 donations (7,085 of those were whole blood), and 1,300 first time donors.
Seth has been donating at the Solvita staff blood drives since he joined Solvita in 2022. His blood type is O positive, and he’s been helping with the high demand for type O by donating double red cells.
“The reason why I donate is because it’s such a simple thing you can do that helps a lot of people,” said Seth. “All it takes is a couple minutes out of your day and in return you can make someone’s day all the better for it.”
Seth said he and Alyse have been talking about seeing a Bengals game in person this season for a new adventure. Instead, they’ll be in The Shoe cheering for the Buckeyes. “I’m excited for these tickets and to do something with my wife that we’ve never done before,” he said.

REMEMBERING EVERYTHING GENUINE ABOUT ‘DONOR FOR LIFE’ KENZIE CAMPBELL
The people who knew, loved, and will never forget “Donor for Life’ Kenzie Campbell gathered to donate in his honor Oct. 26 at the Kenzie Campbell Memorial Blood Drive, celebrated for the sixth year at the Solvita Dayton Center.
The Dayton Center was a familiar place for Kenzie, who made 299 lifetime donations with the former Community Blood Center before his untimely death to lung cancer in May 2019. Sixty-five donors registered to donate at the Dayton Center Saturday morning and 20 signed-in as supporters of the Kenzie Campbell Memorial Blood Drive.
Kenzie donated platelets in memory of his sister Debbie, who died of breast cancer in 2011, and his mother who battled breast cancer before her death in 2008.
Debbie’s husband Jim Hume, Kenzie and Debbie’s brother Mel Campbell, and Kenzie’s daughter Jennifer Campbell are also platelet donors. They sponsor the memorial blood in the month of October to coincide with Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
“Debbie was the epitome of his thinking of other people instead of herself,” Mel said of his sister. “She epitomized thinking of others and Kenzie was that way.”
Jim made his 258th lifetime donation and Mel made his 225th lifetime donation at the memorial blood drive. Mel retired after 45 years as an educator and administrator with Beavercreek and Greene County schools. He still considers his brother the better donor and the better people person.
“Kenzie never met a stranger,” said Mel. “Some people might say I’m that way, but I didn’t even come close.”
Kenzie’s family says his dedication to donating was an expression of his kindness and empathy for others.
“Dedication is the word to describe him,” said Jennifer. “Dedication to family, to church, to donating blood – the UD Flyers! He gave back with passion and heart in everything he did, for us, for work, for everything he was part of.
“Genuine kindness, a genuine person.”
Kenzie’s daughter Becky and husband Chuck Stroh came to this year’s blood drive with their 16-yearr-old daughter Annalee who was inspired to make her first lifetime donation.
“Because of my grandpa,” said Annalee. “I wanted to do my first donation in honor of him. He was my best friend.”

JUDY LAMUSGA BRINGS HER PASSION FOR SAVING LIVES TO DONATION HALL OF FAME
Beavercreek blood donor Judy LaMusga brought her fire and passion for helping save lives to her induction ceremony into the Fresenius Kabi Donation Hall of Fame Oct. 25 at the Solvita Dayton Center. She challenged anyone afraid of donating blood to put aside those fears and do the same.
“This has become my passion,” said Judy. “I donate platelets and the following week I get a text that says your platelets have gone to a patient at a certain hospital. How do you not feel that as a passion when you know you have helped save a life or extended a life?”
Judy has 583 lifetime blood donations and is Solvita’s second-ranked female donor and ninth-ranked donor overall. She is the12th Hall of Fame inductee for Solvita (formerly Community Blood Center) and the 10th in the last 10 years.
“When I was reading your bio the thing that struck me the most was when you said it’s not about the awards,” said Fresenius Kabi Account Executive Curt Cotner who presented the Hall of Fame award to Judy. “It’s not. It’s about the people and the lives you save.”
Cotner said Judy’s 583 donations had the potential to help more than 1,500 people. “So, it is for that,” he said, “we recognize you and welcome you into the Fresenius Kabi Donation Hall of Fame.”
Judy’s recognition as a dedicated platelet donor came during a current critical shortage of platelets. Platelets are vital for the treatment of cancer, trauma, transplant, and burn patients.
“Few people are candidates to do it,” said Solvita Vice President of Donor Services Tracy Morgan. “We are blessed she is one of those people. It’s not just what she does inside the donor room, but what she does outside the donor room. That’s why she is one of my favorites.”
Judy served 35 years with the Montgomery County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities before earning a law degree. In 2022, the University of Dayton Law School presented Judy with the Francis J. Conte Special Service Award.
Judy was an original organizer in the former Community Blood Center’s LifeLeader recruitment program and was honored with CBC’s Award of Distinction in 1998.
“She really helps us, she recruits other people, you recruited young donors,” said Morgan. “LifeLeaders really cultivated a lot of people to get involved in blood donations and come down and experience how good it feels to be a blood donor, and being a blood donors does feel good.”
“Where in the world is there an easier volunteer job?” said Judy. “Does it hurt? My God, they’re sticking a needle in your arm. But it only hurts for a second. A momentary stick? Think of the people you are saving.
“The people you are saving are laying in a hospital bed, needles in every part of their body, and they are fighting for their life. You can put up with a simple needle stick in your arm. And anyone who says I’m afraid of needles, don’t say that to me, then I will go off on you!
“Someday you may be laying in that bed, with all those needles sticking into you, and all these years you did not donate because you were afraid of needles. How unforgivable.”

ALEX SURPISES HIMSELF WITH 20 GALLON MILESTONE
Spring Valley donor Alex Scholp surprised himself when he realized that his milestone 160th lifetime donation on Oct. 22 at the Solvita Dayton Center was the equivalent of 20 gallons of blood.
“That’s hard to process!” said Alex. “Twenty gallons of my blood – it doesn’t seem possible.”
Alex grew up in Hoboken, New Jersey, served in the U.S. Army in South Korea, and started donating while working in New Hampshire. He and his wife moved to Washington Township in 1976 to be closer to her family, and he soon became a Community Blood Center (now Solvita) donor.
As an insurance salesman he could set his own schedule, and he made time for at least four donations a year. “It turned out to be the best thing I’ve done for the community,” he said.
It concerns him that only about 3% of the eligible U.S. population donates each year. “I do it,” he said. “I brag about it once in a while.”
He said he stood up at a civic group meeting and announced, “When I leave here, I’m going to go save a life.” He got a puzzled response until he explained he was on his way to donate. “They started clapping,” he said.
“My wife says, “You’d better start slowing down, you’re 80 years old!’” said Alex. “But I don’t feel it!”

URGENT CALL FOR PLATELET DONORS
Solvita is in immediate need of platelet donations. This is an urgent call to donors to help fill 200 open appointments Monday Oct. 28 through Saturday Nov. 4 at the Solvita Dayton Center.
Your donation is crucial to helping us provide the lifesaving products our local hospitals need to save lives. Join us in the fight against cancer by making a platelet or whole blood donation! Your donation could provide lifesaving support to those battling this disease.
Never donated platelets? Learn more by calling (937) 461-3220. Act now because the need is great.

6TH ANNUAL KENZIE CAMPBELL MEMORIAL BLOOD DRIVE IS SATURDAY
October is the heart of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and a time close to the heart of the Campbell family of Dayton. They will celebrate the memory of “Donor for Life” Kenzie Campbell Saturday, Oct. 26 at the Solvita Dayton Center with the 6th annual Kenzie Campbell Memorial Blood Drive.
Kenzie donated platelets in memory of his sister Debbie, who died of breast cancer in 2011, and his mother who fought breast cancer for years before her death in 2008. He had made 299 lifetime donations before his unexpected death from lung cancer in May 2019. The family held the first memorial blood drive in June 2019, and it has been in October since 2020.
Walk-ins are welcome at the Solvita Dayton Center, or make an appointment on the Donor Time app, by calling (937) 461-3220, or at www.donortime.com.

TRADITION OF GIVING AT 46TH ANNUAL MIAMI U. GREEK WEEK BLOOD DRIVE
The tradition of brothers and sisters donating blood during Greek Week at Miami University continued for the 46th year on Oct. 22 with the Greek Week Blood Drive in the Armstrong Pavilion.
Greek Week is commonly the biggest Solvita blood drive of the day and the largest college campus blood drive of the year, and that tradition continued with 142 donors, including 111 blood donations and 83 first time donors.
Greek Week is the “granddaddy” of college blood drives in Solvita’s 18-county region. The Greek tradition dates back 175 years at Miami and the Greek Week Blood Drive has been part of campus life since 1978. A third of undergraduates belong to the more than 50 Greek chapters on campus. Miami remains Solvita’s (formerly Community Blood Center) oldest partner and one of its biggest blood drive sponsors.
Multiple student organizations co-sponsor Miami blood drives with members serving juice and cookies in the Donor Café. “We can’t pledge until spring quarter,” said Education, Health, and Society Ambassadors member Elizabeth Kammonn, “but we wanted to volunteer.”
Vince Vombergar is a sophomore Beta Theta Pi member from Cleveland who wore his Browns ball cap as he made his first lifetime donation. He was recruited to make a double red cell donation on Solvita’s new Alyx machine. The Alyx is lightweight and more portable, which makes it easier to offer double red cell donations at remote mobile blood drives or on the Bloodmobile.
“We’ve been doing pretty well so far,” Vince said about his fraternity’s performance in Greek Week competitions. “We won the ‘Big Man on Campus,’ dodge ball, and puddle pull, so we’re three-for-three.”
Vince and fellow Greeks will also be contributing to their chapter’s Greek Week scoring because they earn points for donating at the blood drive.
“I heard this was a big turn-out today,” said Alpha Phi member Autumn Offenberger who made her first lifetime donation, earning Greek Week points for her sorority. “You send your photo to your chapter president,” she said.
Zeta Tau Alpha sorority member Taryn Norberg, who wore the Solvita “Fight Cancer” October Breast Cancer Awareness Month t-shirt as she donated for a second time at a Greek Week blood drive.
“It’s nice to be able to give back,” said Taryn. “I wanted to do a stem cell donation when I was in high school, but I got a concussion playing soccer and couldn’t do it. So, I thought I would do this.”
“I’ve never donated before this,” said Delta Kappa Epsilon member Luke Dietz, a junior from Youngstown, Ohio. “I wanted to try it and see what’s like. I might as well do something good.”
“It’s an easy way to volunteer and help the community,” said junior Alpha Xi Delta member Lauren Biegel, who donated for a second time at a Greek Week blood drive and is taking part in other Greek Week activities. “We’re doing a lot of sports events, the trivia event, and a service event where we’ll be packaging a bunch of good to donate. It’s something every day.”
Sophomore Alpha Chi member Avery Polcar is from Chagrin Falls in the Cleveland area where she started donating and organizing blood drives in high school.
“I donate a lot,” said Avery. “I did a couple of Red Cross blood drives and got a scholarship. My dad is O negative so they always called us. It was part of my role in high school on Student Council. It was the first thing I thought of. I loved it and it’s really rewarding. I’ll never stop doing it.”

JUDY LAMUSGA NAMED TO NATIONAL DONATION HALL OF FAME
Beavercreek attorney Judith “Judy” LaMusga is among 12 blood donors nationwide named to the 2024 Fresenius Kabi Donation Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will be Friday, Oct. 25 at 10 a.m. at the Solvita Dayton Center, 349 S. Main St.
Judy has 583 lifetime blood donations and is Solvita’s second-ranked female donor and ninth-ranked donor overall. She represents Solvita (formerly Community Blood Center) as its 12th Hall of Fame inductee and the 10th in the last 10 years.
Solvita Blood center nominated Judy in recognition of the passion, advocacy, and influence that has made her a leading ambassador for the cause of blood donations.
Judy has been a platelets donor since the early ‘80’s and averages 20 donations per year.
She gave proponent testimony on behalf of Community Blood Center in 2018 for legislation establishing January Ohio Blood Donor Awareness Month. This past January she joined Dayton Mayor Jeffrey Mims in kicking off Donor Month 2024 at the Solvita Dayton Center.
“I don’t care about honors, or awards,” Judy said about her induction into the Hall of Fame. “I just want to give blood and save a life. How many lives have been saved or extended because I donated? That’s what is important to me.”
She was inspired when she began donating platelets to learn her donation was going directly to a woman fighting cancer. “I said right then, ‘Oh my God, I'm coming back,’” she said.
She was part of a group of donors recruited to help a little boy with a terminal illness. “We donated our platelets and managed to save his life long enough to give the family one last Christmas,” she said.
“Those kinds of connections make you committed to the understanding that if you don’t give, it’s not going to be there. Someone is not going to receive it, someone could die.”
“This is just frosting on the cake,” she said about awards. “If we’re not there, we know lives are not being saved. To me, that’s the cake. All the other stuff is frosting. That’s why I donate.”

OCTOBER DONORS NEEDED AT ‘PINK OUT’ BLOOD DRIVE
Support the “Pink Out” Blood Drive” at the Solvita Dayton Center, 349 S. Main St. We have continued the “Pink Out” through Oct. 31 to encourage more blood donations during this important time to fight cancer and to keep the regional blood supply strong.
Platelets are critical for the treatment of cancer, trauma, transplant, and burn patients. October Breast Cancer Awareness Month is a time to focus on this common need.
Many cancer patients rely on regular blood and platelet transfusions to survive. One fourth of all blood donations in the U.S. goes to help cancer patients.
Everyone who registers to donate will get a $15 Kroger gift card, the “Fight Cancer” October Breast Cancer Awareness Month t-shirt, and will be automatically entered in the drawing to win two tickets to the Ohio State vs. Michigan game Nov. 30 in Columbus.
Walk-ins are welcome at the Solvita Dayton Center, or schedule your donation on the Donor Time app, by calling (937) 461-3220, or at www.donortime.com .

URGENT CALL FOR PLATELET DONORS
Platelets are always in demand, but the current need is greater than ever.
If you are already a platelet donor, please donate as soon as you can to help Solvita overcome the current platelet shortage. If you have never donated platelets, consider calling (937) 461-3220 to talk with an apheresis specialist.
Platelets are critical for the treatment of cancer, trauma, transplant, and burn patients. October Breast Cancer Awareness Month is a time to focus on this common need.
Many cancer patients rely on regular blood and platelet transfusions to survive. One fourth of all blood donations in the U.S. goes to help cancer patients.
Some types of cancer cause blood loss. Patients with internal bleeding need transfusions for their bodies to function.
Chemotherapy can damage bone marrow, lowering the production of platelets. Cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma attack bone marrow, preventing it from producing enough blood. Other cancers can attack hormone levels, also decreasing blood production.
Everyone who registers to donate with Solvita now through Nov. 2 receives the “Fight Cancer” October Breast Cancer Awareness Month t-shirt. Register to donate at any Solvita blood drive Sept. 30 through Oct. 26 to be automatically entered in the drawing to win two tickets to the Ohio State vs. Michigan game Nov. 30 in Columbus.
Schedule your donation on the Donor Time app, call (937) 461-3220, or at visit www.donortime.com .