'Platelet guy' attempts to donate at every American Red Cross
Some teenagers dream of getting a driver's license, buying a cheap car and spending late nights out with friends.
But when he was young, Ryan Dolce hoped to one day give blood.
At the time, the now-30-year-old hospital security guard in Dunkirk, New York, wasn't allowed to donate because he was under the weight requirement. Now he's on a mission to donate platelets to every American Red Cross donation center in the nation.
"When I moved back to where I live now, the Red Cross started doing a blood drive at where I worked. I was like: 'OK, perfect. This is the perfect opportunity to finally start donating blood regularly."
When he looked into the process, Dolce learned he has type A positive blood − making him an ideal candidate to donate platelets, the tiny cells in blood that form clots and stop bleeding.
Cancer patients, burn victims and bone marrow recipients often need platelets, sometimes described as “liquid gold.” And they must be used within five days, which means there is high demand for donations.
I "realized how much of an impact it can make. So, I said, 'All right, let's start doing that,'" Dolce said.
Since then, he has checked 25 of the Red Cross’ 200 sites off his list – and counting.
Stepping up to save others
Dolce first got the idea to visit every Red Cross location after donating platelets at the organization’s center in Buffalo, New York.
"I joined a Facebook page. It's with the Red Cross for platelet donors. So, I was on there and just seeing other people all over the country, I was like, 'I wonder what other locations are like?'" he said.
"I went to the closer ones. I went to Cleveland, then I went to Rochester (New York) − the closest ones to me. I was like, 'Well, why not just do all of them?'
Dolce donated his 100th unit of platelets to the Red Cross on June 23 at the Lewis Center Red Cross Blood and Platelet Donation Center in Ohio, officially checking the state off his list.
The Lewis Center donation center's team supervisor and site manager, Shay Fisher, said she hoped his venture would inspire people to join him in donating blood and platelets to help save lives.
"You come in and you're saving a life. And what he's doing, he's potentially saving up to three lives with today's donation," she said, gesturing to Dolce in the donation chair across the room.
"Sometimes, we have to step outside of ourselves for others. Red Cross is all about the community and helping each other in the community, and that's the bigger picture."
‘Need for blood is constant’
Summer can present an array of challenges to blood supplies, as travel and inclement weather prevent people from donating, the Red Cross said. Daniel Parra, a spokesperson for the agency, recommended people schedule appointments ahead of time to help officials ensure there is enough blood, platelets and plasma for all patients.
“Dedicated blood donors like Dolce are vital to ensuring blood is available when and where it’s needed most,” Parra said. “The need for blood is constant − and it can only be met through the generosity of individuals who roll up their sleeves to give.”
Parra said typo O blood is typically the first to run low during a shortage, and it's the most needed right now. People who have type O negative blood are known as universal donors, meaning their blood can be given to any patient.
Donating ‘liquid gold’
About every two seconds, someone in the United States needs blood or platelets, according to Red Cross estimates.
Unlike blood, which can be donated only every 56 days, people can give platelets every seven days, or up to 24 times a year. One donation can provide enough platelets for up to three patients.
Donors can also make a platelet donation with a concurrent plasma donation once every 28 days.
For more information on donating platelets, visit the American Red Cross website.
An eight-year blood-giving journey
Dolce has already donated at every location in his home state. In early July, he stopped at the nonprofit’s only center in Vermont, completing three of the 37 states where the Red Cross has donation centers.
If he keeps up the pace – donating every seven days and up to 24 times a year − Dolce said, it will take him a minimum of 8½ years to complete his journey.
"One of the other reasons why I like doing it is on the Red Cross app, they tell you where your products went to, like specifically which hospital," Dolce said. "I just always love to see that."
The self-described “platelet guy” said he plans visit new centers the American Red Cross opens, but he will mark his goal complete after he donates at the 200 Red Cross centers that were open when he began the journey.
From there, he said he plans to tackle other non-American Red Cross sites in order to donate platelets in all 50 states, as well as Guam and Puerto Rico. He may even add Canada.
"More than anything, I want to thank him for starting this journey. That's an awesome thing to do," Fisher said.
"For as long as he can do it, I wish him well on all the many endeavors that this takes him."
This article was made possible by support from the Center for HumanKindness at The Columbus Foundation, which has partnered with The Columbus Dispatch, part of the Paste BN Network, to profile those making our community a better place. Help us inspire kindness by suggesting people, initiatives or organizations for Reporter Sophia Veneziano to profile. She can be reached at sveneziano@dispatch.com. Learn more at Dispatch.com/Kindness. The Dispatch retains full editorial independence for all content.