By Daily Press staff
Santa Monica High teacher Jamie Jiminez knows first hand that sometimes it takes the experience of a loss for others to benefit. It’s a philosophy that he’s now sharing with his students who are joining him in rolling up their sleeves and giving the gift of life to the Santa Monica community by donating platelets at Saint John’s Health Center.
“My friend’s daughter passed away after a struggle with Leukemia, and my wife and I began donating platelets in her memory,” said Jiminez, the social studies department chairperson at Santa Monica High School. “For the past three years, I have been donating platelets and feel good about sacrificing a little of myself to help others.”
Some of his students have adopted his mantra and see how helping the community can help themselves. By donating platelets, the students receive credit for the community service component of their social studies class from Jiminez. Photos of the students who donate platelets are displayed on a bulletin board in Saint John’s Health Center’s Blood Donation Center.
“In my social studies class, I help my students realize that they are members of the community and have a responsibility to Santa Monica to make where they live a better place,” he said. “I can’t think of a better way to contribute to the community than by donating blood or platelets.”
Saint John’s Health Center’s Blood Donation Center accepts whole blood and platelet donations from healthy individuals who are 17 and older, weigh at leat 110 pounds and have not ingested aspirin or products containing aspirin, ibuprofen or anti-inflammatory medications three days prior to donating blood.
Whole blood or platelet donation is a painless procedure that takes one hour or about 90 minutes, respectively. During the donation, donors can watch a movie or T.V. show, listen to music or sleep.
For more information or to schedule an appointment to donate blood, please call (310) 829-8025.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 2, 2002. Read the original PDF.