Mariners Catcher Cal Raleigh visits Columbia City to Spread Awareness for Blood Donation

Reporting by Cesar Canizales

Seattle Mariners fans lined up early Friday morning in front of Marination restaurant in Columbia City.

Many of them showed up long before the restaurant even opened, all to see and meet Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, who was there to promote Bloodworks Northwest efforts to boost blood donations.

Mariners fan Gabe Agnew said he woke up at 5:30 a.m. to make sure he would get to meet Raleigh.

“I’ve been here for two-and-a-half hours—first in line,” Agnew said.

Raleigh has been involved with Bloodworks NW as a member of the Young Bloods, a group of young athletes who promote blood donation.

“I want to do my part in trying to get the word out for them,” Agnew said. “And they've done a great job, kind of getting the word out and letting people know it's a big need for blood and donations.”

Agnew says he’s not quite ready to donate blood. 

“I'm still scared of needles, but I think donating blood is great,” Agnew said.

It is that fear keeps people from donating blood.

John Yeager, of Bloodworks Northwest, said that fear is real, but people can overcome it.

“A lot of people cite the fear of needles, which is called trypanophobia. It's a real thing. It's in your head. It's the fear of the needle going into your skin,” Yeager said. “But when you actually do it, when you go through the donation, it doesn't hurt at all, but it's in your mind.”

Raleigh said that fear is part of the reason he supports Bloodworks NW.

“There's a lot of people that are scared needles. And that's kind of why I'm here, trying to get the word out and try to get people to bite the bullet and kind of get over that fear of needles,” Raleigh said.

Yeager said there is an urgent need for blood, especially during the summer months, when more accidents happen, and there are fewer donors because that’s when most people go on vacation.

“We need blood, especially during July. We've got 5,500 openings in the rest of July. And a lot of times we can't replenish the blood supply unless we get donors, and, in this case, young donors in there to maintain an adequate blood supply,” Yeager said.

Raleigh says he has been donating blood for a few years, and he has some personal experience with the need for donations.

“I've had friends, family, kids, who've needed transfusions, who've the needed blood. And I know how big it is for their families and people that care about them,” Raleigh said.

Yeager said the donor shortage is not limited to young people. People in communities of color just don’t donate as much.

“The industry's not doing a good enough job reaching out to a lot of different communities--African American, Asian-- lots of different communities. We need to be better represented and we need to do a better job of reaching out as an industry,” Yeager said. 

Marination’s owner Kamala Saxton is a regular blood donor, and she wanted to raise awareness in the community about the importance of donating blood.

“I think Bloodworks is something that every small business can do. Whatever everyone can do-- whether you're a small business, whether you're a professional baseball player or just a concerned citizen-- it's something that does not take a whole lot of time but meets a critical need in the community.”

Find out more about Bloodworks NW and how you can support here