Donating blood and platelets is a tradition for the Stern family, spanning three generations.

Larry (center), who started it all several decades ago, asked his son Todd (right) and grandson Colden (left) to join him in rolling up their sleeves together at the Red Cross Blood Donation Center in Utica.

Larry began donating whole blood at age 18 when he joined the Navy. He remained a regular donor and has reached 38 gallons! In the late 90s, Larry signed up to donate platelets and faithfully donated every two weeks until 2006 when heart issues prevented him from donating. Despite that setback, Larry was still eligible to donate blood and was happy to oblige. He’s able to join the platelets roster again and it was his idea for three generations to donate together.  

Todd started where his father left off in 2006, volunteering to fulfill Dad’s next scheduled platelet donation. As Todd recalls, “While he was still in his hospital bed, he was worrying about missing his upcoming platelet donation. To calm him down, I agreed to take his appointment and give platelets a shot. Fortunately, that worked out.” In fact, Todd has been donating essentially every two weeks since and is currently at 106 gallons and counting!

Colden is now following in the compassionate footsteps of his family elders and recorded his first donation earlier this year. The joint appearance with his grandfather and father was his second time, and he plans to continue the tradition of donating.

The Sterns are rightfully proud of their collective contributions in saving lives, and they’re all committed to that legacy of humanitarianism.  

“At the beginning, I did it because I thought it was a great thing that my father did,” Todd explained. “Over the years, I’ve met several people who have benefitted from platelet donations, and now they are my motivation. Any time I ‘don’t feel like it’, I just think of them and I realize that I have a choice of whether I want to go donate or not, but they do not. They absolutely have to get those platelets. That is a very strong motivator for me.”

To learn more about donating or to schedule an appointment, visit redcrossblood.org