SPOKANE, Wash.--The Inland Northwest Blood Center used a new mobile bus in July to collect blood from donors. The bus traveled to donors, rather than the other way around, making the process of giving blood much more convenient.
One recipient with the Spokane County Sheriff's Department said he would have died if it were not for the blood transfusion he received. Deputy Mike Northway thanked blood donors for saving his life.
'Most of the time in law enforcement we deal with victims, but I now know what it's like to be the victim,' said Northway.
A wanted felon shot Northway four times during a 2012 traffic stop in North Spokane. A bullet destroyed an artery, causing a life-threatening blood loss.
'The blood that I received was a large part of saving my life,' said Northway.
Northway donated blood on Tuesday in a blood mobile.
'Forty percent of our blood supply is given on mobile buses,' said Elizabeth Giles with the INBC. 'Blood bus may be in Spokane Valley one day and it could be up in Chewelah on another. We like to make it as convenient for our donors as possible.'
Organizers said stories such as Northway's made their work worth it.
'There's nothing more rewarding than seeing a story of a patient who has needed blood and then it can really come full circle where they can come back and give blood and help save another life,' said Giles.
The blood center was extremely low in July and was calling donors of all blood types. The center especially needed negative blood types and O positives.
