600 units not enough for Painesville Township man
Richard Gundelach donates platelets every two weeks, and on March 11, 2022, he reached a milestone: 600 platelet units donated.
His wife Carol baked a carrot cake to mark the occasion.
“Compared to giving (whole) blood, it’s easier,” Richard said after the donation. “People need it.”
Platelets are cell fragments in our blood that form clots and stop or prevent bleeding. They can be essential to helping patients survive surgeries such as organ transplants, and to fight cancer, chronic diseases and traumatic injuries.
During the platelet donation, the blood clotting portion of whole blood is “spun” out and the rest of the blood is returned to the donor; typically, the body replaces its platelets in 24-36 hours.
Platelets are always in short supply because they only have a shelf life of five days. Every 15 seconds, someone needs platelets.
Encouraged by a friend, Richard began donating platelets during a time of unemployment 27 years ago. He’s retired now, and he wants to continue giving regularly.
His new goal: to donate 1,000 units of platelets.
When he achieves that goal, Carol may need to bake a bigger cake!
Donors can make an appointment to give platelets, whole blood or plasma by visiting redcrossblood.org, by calling 1-800-RED CROSS, or by installing the Red Cross blood app on their smartphones.
Edited by Glenda Bogar. American Red Cross volunteer
NOHredcross 
Thank you, Richard! Was a whole blood donor of 137 units, on medical leave as Blood Donor Ambassador and Drive manager. Following an autologous stem cell transplant last fall, I looked up at the first of two units of platelets.T the statement we share became a reality, “A whole blood donation saves three lives”. Hmmm… I might have received those units from you and/or my identical twin brother, a platelet donor himself. What a small but generous world we live in. THANK YOU.