Jason Burlew had been donating blood for nearly two decades before he ever thought he might need it himself. But in 2021, after being diagnosed with adrenal cancer, everything changed. During surgery to remove the tumor and his kidney, Jason lost so much blood that transfusions were the only thing keeping him alive.
“I had spent years quietly donating blood, never thinking much about where it went,” he said. “But on that day, it came full circle.”
After a yearlong recovery, Jason marked his birthday by donating blood again — this time as both a donor and a survivor. Today, he’s the marketing manager at Blood Bank of Delmarva, where he works to spread awareness about the lifesaving importance of blood donation.
“You don’t need a medical degree to save a life,” he says. “You just need to give an hour of your time.”