Written by Isabel Anderson, Cascades Regional Communications Manager

David Dodd has been donating platelets for years. He first started donating 12 years ago when his coworker, and friend, was diagnosed with Leukemia followed by his neighbor and then his childhood friend. He heard about his friend’s need for platelets for his cancer treatment and decided to give it a try and he’s been doing it ever since.

“If it’s not donated, you don’t get it. It’s liquid gold. That’s why donating platelets is important to me,” says Dodd.

Dodd works full time but still makes time for donations. He normally comes in once every two weeks to donate platelets on Saturday morning but, when he heard that the Beaverton Blood Donation Center was opening on a Thursday, he was quick to change his regularly scheduled appointment so that he would be the first platelet donor at this site.

He is just one example of our beloved and dedicated donors and the Red Cross is committed to making this process more convenient for those like him.

The Beaverton blood donation center opened it’s doors on December 6th, 2024 and is the newest of our six sites across the state, including Portland, Vancouver, Wood Village, Bend and Medford. This new location will help service the 600,000 people who live in Washington County and the surrounding area.

Oregon and SW Washington typically collect 182,000 units of blood every year and we hope to increase that number with this new addition. Every two seconds someone needs blood in this country and every 15 seconds someone needs platelets. Each unit donated can save more than one life and truly is “liquid gold” for those who are sick or hurting.

The Red Cross plans to have a ribbon cutting ceremony at this location in late January 2025, date to be determined. If you’d like to be part of our lifesaving mission by donating blood or platelets, you can make an appointment here.