Minnesota teens pouring in to donate blood

Sarah Mauser couldn't bear to watch.

As a woman in a blue hospital gown approached her with a long silver needle, she looked away and held her breath.

In an instant, the needle was in her arm. Relief flashed across her face. She gazed at her twin brother, Anthony, donating on the bed beside her. Finally, she breathed. The hard part was over.

It was the second blood donation for the Mauser twins of Apple Valley, who turned 17 in January. Last year, they joined more than 4,000 Minnesota 16-year-olds who have given blood since a law that took effect last July lowered the donation age from 17.

Eight years ago, their father, Paul, went through at least five pints of blood during a kidney and pancreas transplant, Anthony said. That inspired them to pay back the gift of life that others gave their father. They promise a lifetime of payments; Tuesday was their second installment.

"I mean, why not donate?" Sarah asked.

"It's one of the easiest ways to save a life," Anthony chimed in.

Although the nation's blood banks are well stocked right now, and although Minnesota is a net blood exporter, doctors say the need will grow as aging baby boomers encounter more health problems.

The driving force behind the law was then 15-year-old Joe Gibson, of Blooming Prairie, Minn., who was turned away from his high school blood drive because of his age.

"Some of the people donating were 60-, 70-year-olds -- 100-pound elderly people," Gibson said. "And, hey, I'm 160 pounds, and I run five miles a day, I'm in great shape. Why can't I donate?"

After discovering that other states had lowered the age to 16, Gibson talked to Minnesota Rep. Patti Fritz, DFL-Faribault, who sponsored the bill. It passed both houses unanimously, and Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed it.

Since it took effect, 3,790 16-year-old Minnesotans have donated blood to the American Red Cross, and 1,200 to Memorial Blood Center of Minnesota -- an outpouring even Gibson didn't expect.

"We opened the door, but it was the youth that walked through and made it special," said Gibson, or Blood Boy to his friends. "It's increased my faith in my generation."

The law sets a minimum age because donors under age 20 experience more side effects, from light-headedness, to bruising, to passing out. Donors 20 and older have side effects about 3 percent of the time. The percentage rises to 11 percent for 16- and 17-year-olds, according to a study by the Red Cross's executive medical officer, Dr. Anne Eder.

Experts say that if a young donor has a bad experience, they are highly unlikely to donate again. Traditionally, 16- to 19-year-olds make up about 20 percent of blood donors, said Jill Applegate, regional spokeswoman for the Red Cross.

Increasingly, teenage donors may be called upon to aid their elders.

"At the same time as our population ages, there are more people requiring blood use, so it's a two-edged sword," said Dr. Jeb Gorlin, medical director for Memorial Blood Center. "On one hand you have less donor eligibility, and on the other hand you have more donor need."

Less than 15 minutes after the needle pierced Sarah Mauser's arm, Red Cross team leader Janisha Shropshire walked over to dismantle the tubing leading to her full donation bag. This session left her with no complications; after her last donation, both arms had dark-purple bruises, evidence of the phlebotomist's struggle to hit a vein.

Sarah said the possibility of side effects won't deter her from reaching her goal of donating 100 pints. She smiled as she slowly got up from the bed.

"You might have a little bruising," she said. "Oh, well. That should be more of a badge of honor than anything."

Alex Ebert • 612-673-4264