Residents Come Out to Support Ela Township Blood Drive

Many good-hearted residents, township officials and staff gave the gift of life Tuesday by donating blood at the LifeSource holiday blood drive hosted by Ela Township.

For six hours, vehicles filed in and out of the township office parking lot at 1155 E. Route 22, in Lake Zurich, where the LifeSource Donor Coach was stationed. Good thing the bad weather was on Monday!

Inside the heated coach was a flurry of activity as uniformed medical professionals carefully navigated around each other to prep and draw blood from donors like twin sisters Linnay and Nia-Shea Grosche, 23, of Lake Zurich.

The sisters, who are Type O negative, the universal donor, said they make it a point to donate regularly, having grown up understanding the importance.

"We were born prematurely," Nia-Shea said. "We are quadruplets, actually. My brother got very sick and needed a blood transfusion. It saved his life."

One blood donation can save at least three lives, Linnay said. "It's a small sacrifice of your time."

For those who've never donated, "It's not bad at all. If you have good veins and you're hydrated, you should be fine," Linnay said.

As they laid across from each other while their blood was being drawn, the sisters laughed and joked about who's time would be the fastest.

"We make it a competition," Nia-Shea said.

Nancy Zemroz, of Chicago, was visiting her daughter in Lake Zurich, but made time to donate blood on Tuesday.

"They called me up about two year ago and said they needed blood, so I went in and then just stared going every three months or as often as I could. You're making a sacrifice, but it's for the good of everyone," she said.

Frank Szczepaniak, of Lake Zurich, has been donating twice a year for the past 38 years.

"My dad died in a fire in 1978 and they needed blood at the time. That's when I started. When people are in need, especially in fires, they're dehydrated and they need to have the blood to get healthy and get better. It's so important to have that blood transfusion," he said.

Each donor received a $10 Walmart gift card.

To learn more about blood donation and to find an event near you, visit www.lifesource.org.