By Eilene Guy, American Red Cross volunteer

What do Marisol Roman in Solon, Alice Hamlin in Findlay and Ramesh Rumba in Bedford Heights have in common with a very special group of millions of people around the world?

They’re volunteer blood donors!  They embody the truth: “One Drop of Humanity. Give Blood. Save Lives.”

“I donated to give someone a chance to live,” Ramesh said. It’s that simple.

June 14 is World Blood Donor Day, when we celebrate the selfless generosity of donors like Ramesh, Alice and Marisol and others across northern Ohio for their lifesaving gifts. Across the U.S., the American Red Cross supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood supply, collecting some 4.7 million blood donations and 1.2 million platelet donations a year.

“What would you want someone to do if it was someone you loved (who needed blood)?” said donor Valerie Purdie of Rocky River. “Life can change at any time and the little things we do can end up being big things for someone else.”

Paige King of Olmstead Falls is living proof: She donated blood a few times in high school, not knowing that a bone-shattering motorcycle crash was in her future. She made it through massive blood loss and multiple surgeries with repeated transfusions, “from (volunteer) donors like myself.

“I will never forget how grateful I am…I am forever grateful for the opportunity to donate.”

Marshall Campos of Warren could have been one of Paige’s donors, unknowingly.  “(No particular person) really motivated me to donate blood. I generally just encouraged myself to do something good.”

Decades ago in Findlay, a friend encouraged Alice Hamlin to start giving blood. Then her dad was diagnosed with leukemia and she learned about the continual need for blood transfusions, even though he didn’t need them. “Eighteen gallons later, I plan to continue donating as long as I’m able,” she said.

Marisol Roman’s motivation to donate was even more personal: “I got plasma when I lost my baby at three months of pregnancy…Do it. You’ll feel good,” she said.

The campaign to raise awareness of the constant need for blood points out that every donation is more than a medical act: It’s a powerful expression of solidarity, compassion and collective responsibility.

In America, we’re privileged to have a safe and solid supply of blood, but it depends on individual actions. Despite more than 62% of our population being eligible, only about three percent actually donate.

Summer is an especially challenging time to maintain the supply, with vacation travel, school breaks and extreme heat disrupting blood drives. Remember, every two seconds, someone needs blood. To schedule your lifesaving donation, go to redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS.