FINDLAY - Just before National Blood Donor Month began, Findlay residents rolled up their sleeves to help replenish the low blood supplies that often accompany the holiday season.

Chris Tippit understands the importance of regular blood donors. She began her crusade as the American Red Cross blood drive coordinator for Findlay four years ago, hosting six drives at the American Legion Post each year. The special-education teacher gives up her two personal days every year so she can run the drives.

"Normally around the holiday seasons, (the blood supply) is always low," Tippit said, as she nursed a pink bandage on her arm at the Dec. 26 drive.

Tippit has witnessed firsthand the lifesaving power a unit of blood can have. Two of her family members received blood products - her husband after a heart attack in 1998 and her father during a long battle with cancer.

For those who say they are too busy to donate, Tippit said, "I just hope they never have to stand in a hospital waiting room with a loved one on the other side of the doors and the blood supply that's needed isn't there."

But she said other aspects of the holiday season contribute to the widespread shortage.

"Normal donors don't think about donating. And also your stress levels are up, and sometimes people's iron count is down, so we have a lot of deferred donors."

Melissa Webb, director of donor relations for Community Blood Services of Illinois, a supplier for America's Blood Centers supplier, was also on hand. Although the American Red Cross and America's Blood Centers are the country's two independent blood suppliers, they were both present at the drive because of one man: Findlay resident Coy Thomas, who is battling chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Thomas regularly receives blood products, and he is also in need of a bone marrow match.

Webb encouraged blood donors to think about getting tissue-typed and placed on the registry of the National Marrow Donor Program, for which Community Blood Services of Illinois is a donor center. The two organizations collaborated to do a joint blood drive and marrow donor screening.

"Our priority here is the local hospitals in the local community," Webb said, adding that Community Blood Services of Illinois also feels the winter shortage.

With four donor centers and blood drives every day throughout the year, Community Blood Services of Illinois supplies about 20,000 blood products per year to five hospitals.

"We have tons of blood drives with colleges, universities, high schools, churches, civic organizations and businesses," Webb said. "Pretty much anywhere you'll allow us to come, we'll have a blood drive."

Blood donations across the country decline in the winter and summer months, Webb said. In winter, schools are out of session, people are battling cold and flu season, and people are worn down from traveling.

"People just kind of forget," Webb said. "They don't realize how important it is to keep donating."

Donations decline to about 200 to 300 pints a week, when 400 to 500 pints are needed to support the hospitals' needs.

"Because we don't have enough blood drives to fulfill that extra 100 to 200 a week, we're really encouraging people to come out and make up for that deficit," Webb said.

"When it comes right down to it, especially in a smaller area, people all start to come together for local residents in need."

Gary Kastman and his wife, Barbara, are fairly new to Findlay. The couple moved there three years after retiring, and they've been giving blood at the drives for most of that time.

"We come every time they have a blood drive here," Kastman said.

He first gave blood while serving in the army from 1961 to 1964. Kastman, who has blood type O negative, is considered a universal donor because his blood can be transfused to any of the other blood types without adverse reactions.

"If you can give something to save somebody's life ¦ I think it's very important," Kastman said. "Everybody should try to do that. We'd be in better shape, right?"

Annie Getsinger can be reached at agetsinger@herald-review.com or 421-6968.