The Community Blood Bank opened for special hours on Saturday to host a drive for Tim Campbell, a longtime blood donor.
He is no stranger to the donor chair. "I've given 600 times and it doesn't hurt that much at all. All I do is think about saving people's lives", explained Campbell.
He was getting ready to sign up to give once again, when his life took a turn. As Campbell explained, "On November 1st, I found out I had cancer and with cancer you can not donate to save people's lives."
This came has the community blood bank was dealing with closures and cancellations due to winter weather. Megan Solensky, the Community Relations Specialist at the Blood Bank explained, "Over 450 units of blood that went uncollected during that time so to have a day to have all these people come out and because it's national blood donor awareness month, we can help with that."
Until Campbell can get back into the chair himself, he said he is going to be relying on community members, family and friends to donate in his absence.
The Community Blood Bank helped organize a blood drive in Campbell's honor, so others could help Campbell and people who need blood.
Jeffery Campbell, Tim's son said, "Donating blood is something the hospitals, they constantly need blood, platelets for cancer patient's it's something that we can do to help out others."
Jeffery said seeing the community show up for a cause that's close to his dad's heart is incredible and he hopes more people continue to donate after Saturday's event, "He has been a constant. Someone who has helped out the community, so he can't give during this time when he has cancer so the more people who can help and give blood, it will be great."
Campbell won't be eligible to donate again for the next five years. If you missed Saturday's drive, you can still sign up in Tim's honor when you head to the Community Blood Bank.