He said he donated because it "is the right thing to do", although his status as a super donor does make him feel "quite proud". "I just think it's not particularly difficult - it is quite quick, quite easy, so it doesn't really take a lot of my time. It just seems to me an important thing to do," he said.
It follows feedback from black heritage groups who said they were more likely to become regular blood donors if they could donate with faith, community or friendship groups. Mark Chambers, from NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), said: "The initiative is about creating a shared experience that makes donating more welcoming, inspiring, and impactful - especially for first-time donors - in a setting that feels more like community than clinic."
For the fifth consecutive year, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford has achieved the "High Performing" designation for maternity care from U.S. News & World Report. U.S. News evaluates hospitals based on cesarean section rates, rates of early elective delivery, complication rates among newborns, breastfeeding support, and the availability of vaginal births after cesarean, comparing over 800 U.S. hospitals that participated in a 2024 survey. Fewer than half achieved the "High Performing" status.
Prince Forde, a proud Barbadian cultural advocate and co-founder of the Caribbean Music Awards, and Keenan Special Bristol, a Guyanese-American artist and activist, are using their platforms to save lives. Marie Driven, the Haitian-American managing partner of the Brooklyn-based entertainment company, PlaybookMG, told Caribbean Life on Monday, Nov. 4, that Forde and Bristol are doing so through Music Brings Life, a nonprofit, merging music, culture, and advocacy to raise awareness about the urgent need for blood donations across Black, Caribbean, and Latino communities.
"We need more new and younger 'repeat' donors and donors of African heritage to ensure the national blood supply remains safe and secure".
Stanford Blood Center is partnering with the Golden State Warriors to give donors a chance to win four tickets to the Warriors vs. Dallas Mavericks game on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, at 2 p.m. at Chase Center in San Francisco. All donors who give blood at a Stanford Blood Center, including the South Bay Donor Center in Campbell, during the month of October will be automatically entered into the drawing.
Stanford Blood Center is partnering with the Golden State Warriors to give donors a chance to win four tickets to the Warriors vs. Dallas Mavericks game on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, at 2 p.m. at Chase Center in San Francisco. All donors who give blood at a Stanford Blood Center, including the South Bay Donor Center in Campbell, during the month of October will be automatically entered into the drawing.
In 2025, giving blood is less painful and more inclusive than you might remember. More members of the LGBTQ+ community are now welcome to donate blood after the U.S. Federal Drug Administration updated blood donation guidelines in 2023. And just this year, the oft-dreaded finger stick was replaced with a sensor slipped on to a finger to measure a donor's hemoglobin, the protein in blood that carries oxygen.
