The 13th annual Oregon Trail Chapter Breakfast of Champions was held on Tuesday, March 9th, celebrating our community heroes. Thomas Stapleton was one of two to receive the ‘Blood Hero’ recognition. Read his inspiring story below!

When Thomas Stapleton’s wife was pregnant and couldn’t give blood, she asked him to donate on her behalf. That simple favor has turned into a lifelong commitment – two decades later, Stapleton has donated more than 50 pints of blood to the Red Cross.

As an O-negative “universal” donor, Thomas’ blood can be used for transfusions to people with any blood type, and plays a key role in maintaining our community’s blood supply. Knowing he’s a valuable resource, Thomas recently switched over from regular blood donation to a process called double red cell donation. Now he can give two units in just one sitting, helping save twice as many lives as ever before.