Pint-sized heroine donates a lifetime total of 20 gallons of blood

Friday, July 18, 2003

Catherine Hinkle doesn't look like an action-movie hero. She's a soft spoken petite woman who takes obvious pride in her home. There's no bandolier of ammunition slung across her chest, no automatic weapon dangling from her shoulder. All the same Hinkle has performed heroically, donating 20 gallons of blood, 120 pints, in her lifetime -- something most Hollywood types would have a hard time emulating. Hinkle, who has donated since 1950, said she is aware each time the bloodmobile comes to town and marks it on her calendar. "There have been times when I haven't donated, but there has always been a reason. Either I've been out of town or was turned down for some reason. There used to be a doctor present whenever they were drawing blood and if you were turned down you went over and talked to the doctor. Once I went and was turned down because I didn't have enough iron and the doctor, who always used very salty language, told me 'Dammit, Catherine, take some iron pills.'" Hinkle shows her arm with pride. "They always admire my veins, they show up so well. They're always saying I have good veins." Hinkle has seen a lot of changes since she began donating blood. "The technology to store blood really began around World War II. When I first moved to Nevada they would still do person to person transfusions. Barth (her husband) would get a phone call to go when they needed his type of blood and they would transfuse his blood directly into someone. When I first started donating they had curtains around each cot. Back then people were fairly squeamish about giving blood and if one person fainted everyone in the room would faint. Now they use plastic bags instead of glass bottles to collect the blood." The changes aren't all technology driven, Hinkle said small changes each visit make a large difference over time. "There is a little bit of change at each visit. I don't believe I have been to a bloodmobile visit where there hasn't been some small change of some sort. They always improve the way they operate. You really see a difference in the questions they ask, some things are emphasized more and others are emphasized less or not even asked. It used to be that you couldn't donate if you'd used aspirin but that has changed." Hinkle said the decision by the Nevada Regional Medical Center to use a different supplier of blood isn't going to change a habit developed over half-a-century. "I intend to continue to donate to the Red Cross even though the hospital has changed suppliers. I think the safety of the blood supply is the most important thing and I'm glad that the Red Cross isn't lowering its standards." "Since the Red Cross is a humanitarian organization that exists to relieve suffering, they do much more than simply collect blood. They provide disaster relief when there are floods or tornadoes or other natural disaster all over the world." Other area residents reached donation milestones recently as well, and received pins commemorating their generosity from the American Red Cross. Phoebe Sage and Deborah Wadel have each donated 11 gallons; Hayden Morgan has donated nine gallons; Linda Hartline, seven gallons; Michael Kutina, six gallons; Joanna Perkins, five gallons; Mike Smith, four gallons; Howard Hulbert, two gallons; and Karla Hines, one gallon. A total of eight persons were first-time donors during the blood mobile's last visit. The Red Cross Bloodmobile's next visit to Nevada is set for Sept. 11-12, at the First Baptist Church, 301 E. Highland.

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