It’s a good thing that Mary McDade doesn’t remember the day that she was severely burned as a toddler, but she’s always known that blood donors saved her life. She knows this because her parents reminded her often when she was growing up. “It’s not only the doctors who saved your life,” her mother, a loyal blood donor, would tell her.

Now a grown womanæa wife and a mother of a son in the militaryæMary spreads the message of the importance of blood donation to her family, friends and co-workers. As a blood drive coordinator for her organization, Mary regularly “beats the drum” to get everyone involved. “I’ve donated more than 5 gallons during my lifetime and I won’t stop until they tell me to,” she laughs.

“I donate blood to give something back,” Mary says. “It’s my way to say thank you to all the people who have touched my life in so many ways.”