RSVP at the American Red Cross Blood Donation Center in Torrance. (Story and Photos by Pete Porter - RSVP)

RSVP volunteer, Joy Nakano, donates many hours of her time at the Torrance Red Cross Blood Center located on Sepulveda Boulevard just West of Crenshaw. The center was a hive of activity when I went there to meet with Joy the other day.

Joy does duty at the front desk as a receptionist every Thursday. As potential donors come in, she checks if they have an appointment or if they are a "walk-in". After signing in, walk-ins are given an information book to read as well as an application form to fill out. Joy also helps out occasionally over at the canteen, where cookies, candy and juices are given to people after they have finished donating. Although Joy has personally donated blood many times in the past, she informed me that she does not now meet the requirement for donors to weigh in excess of 110 pounds. However, she is happy to still be able to help out by volunteering the way she does.

The facility is open for Whole Blood Donation on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. However, Platelet Donation can be made seven days a week at the Center. Blood is drawn from the vein of a donor into an apheresis instrument, which separates the blood into different portions by centrifugation. By appropriately adjusting the instrument, a selected portion of the blood, such as the platelets, can be recovered, while the rest of the blood is returned to the donor either into the same vein or into a vein in the other arm. This process takes more time than whole blood donation, but the yield of platelets is much greater. Platelets collected by apheresis are particularly useful for patients who require numerous platelet transfusions, for example cancer patients who have received chemotherapy. Platelet donation takes between one-and-a-half to two hours to perform. Because of the additional time required for this operation, I was told that platelet donation drops off during the holiday period. Whole blood donation usually takes an hour or less but there is still a shortage of donors during the busy summer months. I was told that the major rise in donations that occurred immediately after the 9-11 disaster has shown a sharp decline since that date although there is still a significant need to obtain this valuable resource.

Having provided comfort and aid to those in need since 1881, the Red Cross quickly adopted Blood Services as a fundamental part of its humanitarian mission.

Started as a war relief effort to provide life-saving blood for soldiers during World War II, Red Cross Blood Services has grown to become an industry leader - collecting and distributing half the nation's blood supply.

All the technology and science, however, is only made possible by one simple selfless act: An average person takes time out of his busy schedule to give a piece of himself so that someone he will never know has a chance to live. This incredible act of kindness, that allows a stranger to celebrate another birthday, give birth to a child, or share another Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends, is at the heart of what we do.

Since establishing the first civilian blood service after World War II, the American Red Cross has been a leader in blood collection, safety and development. Today, the safety and availability of the blood supply is our highest priority. And our national research center, the Jerome H. Holland Laboratory, is one of the foremost blood research facilities in the world.

Today's Red Cross blood program is the legacy of Dr. Charles Drew, a hematologist, surgeon, educator and scientist whose pioneering work in blood collection, plasma processing and transfusion therapy laid the foundation for modern blood banking.

To all the volunteer blood donors, we thank you on behalf of the lives of those patients you have saved, and all their grateful loved ones. You are the true definition of a hero.