You've heard the slogan 'Donate Blood, Save a Life' but for Roy Rodriguez, the first time he donated blood in high school was for a much simpler reason.
"They came out. They said, 'Hey we're gonna do a blood drive. You get out of class' and that's all I needed," said Rodriguez. "Just get out of class. I get to maybe play a little hooky. Get some free cookies, maybe a t-shirt."
Little did he know years later he would become a mega-donor for the American Red Cross.
"Being exposed to it so young kind of helped me keep doing it now that I'm older and seeing the benefit," said Rodriguez.
The benefits are big. Rodriguez's donations fall in line with Red Cross Arizona's new push to get more Hispanics to donate blood.
We asked why it's so important to reach out to the Hispanic community for blood.
"You know, it's... it's so important because, in the Hispanic community, there is a common blood type, blood type O. Blood type O tends to be a universal blood that can help save more lives," responded Edgar Olivo, the American Red Cross CEO for Arizona and New Mexico.
Fifty-seven percent of the Hispanic population is blood type O, according to the American Red Cross. It's the most in-demand blood type for hospitals and is used in trauma situations. However, less than 1% of Hispanics donate blood.
When asked why there's hesitation, Olivo responded, "Well, you know, just personally as a Hispanic person as well, you know, I'm from a Mexican family. I know that there's taboos and misinformation and sometimes religious, you know, beliefs around what it means to donate blood."
The Red Cross Hispanic Engagement campaign hopes to break that cycle by breaking the language barrier. The organization is partnering with the National Association of Hispanic Nurses to help with the blood drives.
Ashley Merida is the president of NAHN's Phoenix chapter, and she tells us there are benefits to the Latino community beyond just giving blood.
"So, it would actually be a very big benefit for you to donate blood because they check your blood pressure, and they're also checking your iron levels to see if you're anemic, to see if you're even a good candidate to donate blood. And these are all things that are just done routinely before you donate blood and I think that can certainly save a life as well," explained Merida.
The part of saving a life truly has meaning for Rodriguez.
"In the blood donor app by American Red Cross, you get a notification where your blood went. My blood went to a hospital in California last and knowing that it could potentially save somebody's life, that's huge," said Rodriguez.
This new effort comes as the American Red Cross is facing a national blood shortage. The organization warned earlier this month that the national blood supply has fallen to critically low levels, dropping nearly 25% since early August.
This could potentially threaten the medical care of patients who rely on blood donations.
To find a blood drive near you, you can download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App or visit redcrossblood.org.
