There aren’t a lot of people like Kimberly Weiss.
Tuesday, the longtime Rady Children’s Hospital employee rolled up her sleeve inside the San Diego Blood Bank’s bus parked right outside. She’s done it before. A lot.
“In these difficult times, it’s a very easy thing that I can do to give back to someone else,” said Weiss, a business unit coordinator for environmental services as the hospital.
Hospital spokesman Carlos Delgado said Weiss had donated blood almost every other month for roughly a decade.
“People like Kim are making such a big difference,” Delgado said. “She’s so close to being at that five-gallon mark."
Let that sink in: Five gallons of blood.
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“Almost. Yup,” said a smiling Weiss.
The San Diego Blood Bank estimated that Weiss has been able to help roughly 100 people in the last decade. She may have helped save some lives.
Unfortunately, the blood bank needs more people like Weiss. A spokeswoman said it likes to have a 7-10 day supply of blood. As of Tuesday, they had less than a four-day supply.
The pandemic has likely scared away some regular donors.
“People are probably a little afraid to be out in the public,” explained Weiss, who said the bus is very clean and the staff are safe.
The San Diego Blood Bank’s bus has also missed opportunities.
“The blood bank has said, because of COVID they haven’t been able to take that bus to some of the schools, some of the community events,” Delgado said.
“People like Kim Weiss, they’re making a difference,” Delgado added.
It’s a big difference, several ounces at a time.
“This is one thing -- one little thing that I can do,” concluded Weiss.
The San Diego Blood Bank is also in desperate need of convalescent plasma during the pandemic. That’s plasma from blood donated by people who have recovered from COVID-19.
