In the month of April, we saw Lab members planting trees, cleaning up the waterfront, participating in mock interviews, and many other generous acts of volunteerism. For Laurie Chong and Alvin Solis, donating blood was an homage to loved ones lost and was the culmination of the deeply personal paths each took to volunteerism. Elements sat down with Laurie and Alvin to learn more about their journeys to giving blood — the gift of life.

Laurie Chong works at the Molecular Foundry as Director of External Relations, where she coordinates all the communications and outreach efforts, including strategic projects, as needed. She is a regular blood donor at the Lab who participated in the April blood drive and has donated since 2016, even before she began work at the Lab. In total, Laurie has donated 18 units (a unit is approximately one pint, or 450 milliliters) of blood.

Laurie was personally motivated to donate blood after her father’s fight with cancer. He needed blood transfusions, receiving multiple units of blood per day. “The first time I donated was with my family.was diagnosed with cancer and he needed blood transfusions, receiving multiple units of blood per day. “The first time I donated was with my family. We all went together to honor my father and honor the donors who gave him a fighting chance and to give other patients that same chance,” she recounts. Laurie resolved to continue donating blood that year, but found it difficult because the closest donation center wasn’t conveniently located for her.

Upon joining the Lab in 2017, Laurie learned there were regular blood drives which made donating much easier. “When I realized that the lab has blood drives regularly, I knew donating would be way easier, so I switched to donating here at the Lab. And now every time I see the email announcing the next drive is coming, I go and sign up. It’s easy and only takes an hour out of my day,” adds Laurie, regarding the relative ease of donating now. The only breaks in Laurie’s long string of donations came in 2000 when she was growing her own family, but even then, she was back at it soon after.

Laurie is a scientist by training and worked in science before moving into communications. She feels this background helps her when confronting some of the worries and fears that others understandably can have about blood donation. “As a scientist, I understand the benefit-to-risk calculation: the risk to the donor is very low –  yet their small effort can make a big difference for others.”

Other than her family, Laurie has not actively recruited others to donate blood, but has posted to social media explaining the donation process and why, in her view, it was so important to do. What makes Laurie a super donor is her willingness to not only donate blood, but also to donate bone marrow — long before her father fell ill — as a video Elements uncovered can attest. And for that, there are no doubt grateful recipients of her deeply personal mission to help others.

Alvin Solis works in the Real Property & Infrastructure Planning (RPIP) Group in which he manages real properties information within the Lab’s VFA database, a program used for various DOE assets reporting and lab planning. He is a first-time blood donor who participated in the April blood drive.

Alvin had wanted to donate blood for a while, but the opportunity never quite presented itself when he was available. Then the Lab held its blood drive during this year’s Holy Week, and this inspired him to give something precious to others. “Financial donations, material things, and laborious services are what most folks give, but giving something that’s more personal and directly supports life presents a special value and higher meaning to what volunteerism is and can be,” explains Alvin.

Was Alvin nervous about donating his first time? He admits to some amount of anxiety, but ultimately, he didn’t have any bad experiences because the Lab organizers did a great job planning for the event, adding “You might get a slight feeling of chills as your body temperature drops a bit, but nothing anyone can’t handle. Perhaps a discomfort for others, but then again, sacrifice is part of the whole volunteering gig.”

Having now donated blood, Alvin realizes that it is a relatively small gesture when weighed against the potentially life-saving impact to others, noting “Because what you give is such a big deal to others, I think those who care to donate blood or have second thoughts about doing so should realize and appreciate the value of what they’re giving or willing to give.”

The donation experience has given Alvin new perspective and a better understanding of volunteerism, noting “Perhaps the experience helped me to better understand what volunteerism is. I would say, it starts with giving what you have – money, time, effort, stuff – and perhaps most people think of giving these only if they’re in excess. Most people normally volunteer or donate only up to the limits of their comfort, and I suppose there’s nothing wrong with that – it’s only practical. But I believe that blood donation highlights the ‘sharing’ aspect of volunteerism, over the more familiar aspect of ‘giving.’ It highlights characteristics of selflessness and sacrificial care often given to perfect strangers.”

In the end, Alvin would donate blood again, “for as long as I’m blessed with good health and able to donate.” He appreciates the good feeling he gets from having benefitted others from enduring small sacrifices.