October 6, 2025 • 30 mins
This week’s show featured DEAR Diabetes president Lorie Lewis and “Biggest Loser” contestant Sonya Jones promoting a fundraiser for the organization on November 6th. Then, Nebraska Community Blood Bank donor recruitment manager Kari Lundeen discussed the importance of blood donation.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
This is Community Matters, a weekly public affairs program to
inform and entertain you with some of the great people, organizations,
and events in and around Omaha. Now here's the host
of the program from news radio eleven ten KFAB. It's
Scott for Heats.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Thank you so much for being with us on Community
Matters this week. It's a pleasure to welcome back to
the show the president of Dear Diabetes DEAAR and acronym
dear Diabetes online at deardiabetes dot org. It's Lorie Lewis
back here on the show. Laurie, thanks a lot for
coming in.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Thank you, Scott. I appreciate you having me.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Once again fill in the acronym dear.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Diabetes Diabetes Education, Awareness and Resources.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Yes, so tell me about what your organization does and
then we'll tell people how they can be a part
of a really fun event coming up here in Omaha
very very soon.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
So the things that we do we the educational events.
As you mentioned, we have an educational event coming up
in November, and then in addition to that, we also
provide funding to individuals living below the poverty line who
are struggling to make ends meet as a result of
dealing with their diagnosis of diabetes, so we help them
(01:18):
with rent assistance. We also help them with utilities so
that they can free up those funds to be able
to pay for medications.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Yeah, and when we talk about an educational event, immediately
people say that sounds like a lecture seminar. No, the
speaker you're bringing into town is super fun. In fact,
you're going to hear from her. Momentarily, tell me about
who's coming to town for this event.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
We are really excited to have Sonya Jones as our
guest speaker, our keynote speaker at the event. She was
on the Biggest Loser and she lost over fifty percent
of her body weight. We're just really excited to have her.
She's motivational, she's inspirational, she's a lot of fun. So
again we're excited to have her.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Yeah, her book forty four Lessons from a Loser. Yes,
then the Biggest Loser on NBC. I was very lucky
to talk to Sonya Jones on my news radio eleven
ten KFAB program recently. In fact, here's a little bit
of that conversation.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
Hey, Scott, Thanks, it's great to be with you. I'm
I'm thrilled to becoming your direction here in about a
month and a half.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Yeah, deardiabetes dot org, where you can get all the
details about the event, and we'll talk about that as well.
But I have to ask you about your life leading
up to not just being on the Biggest Loser, but
I imagine seeing that TV show, having mirrors in your
home and wondering whether any of this might be a
(02:42):
good fit for you. How did that whole journey start?
Speaker 4 (02:46):
Man? If I'm being honest, I have loved The Biggest
Loser since the first season. I would sit and watch
it with my best friend. We would we'd sit with
a big old pizza and a two liter or soda
and we'd eat and drink. And that's what got me
to my starting work of two hundred and eighty three pounds.
But I actually as weird as it is. I wrote
a Facebook post back in two thousand and nine that
(03:09):
essentially said it was called twenty five random things you
may not know about Me, and number nine on that
list was that I secretly had a desire to be
a contestant on The Biggest Loser. And I mean just
the way that it worked out. It was six years
to the day the date, the minute, and the hour
(03:29):
that I was standing on the show for my grand finale.
So I had always loved the show. I only tried
out once. Most people try out seven, eight, ten times.
But yeah, leading up to the show was I was
a pe teacher, I was a you know, a track coach,
but felt like a hypocrite because I was supposed to
(03:51):
be the model of health and wellness for my community
and felt like an absolute embarrassment. So when I got
the call to go on Biggest Loser, I was like, man,
I'm always.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Well, let's let's talk about that for a second, because
I think that there was this feeling that the first
of all the TV show, The Biggest Loser, some people said,
was mocking, making fun of, belittling, looking down on, or
shaming people who were overweight. And here you were overweight,
watching the show and loving it. What was it? What
(04:23):
was it a guilty pleasure? Was it like, all right,
maybe I can stand to lose a few pounds, but
I don't look like that guy, Like what was it
that drew you to that show?
Speaker 4 (04:33):
No, not that at all. What drew me to the
show is the same thing that you won't hear from
me from the stage, if you come to the to
the luncheon, is that what brought me to that show
was the possibility that if they could change, I quite
possibly could too. It gave me hope, It gave me motivation.
I fell in love with some of the contesteds hated,
(04:55):
so some of the others not hated, but you know,
did not identify with them nearly as much. And I
will tell you, you know, with with a documentary that
just came out on Netflix and the things that you heard,
I will tell you one hundred percent that was not
my experience. I loved the experience. I loved my trainer.
All of us who had our trainer, I'm telling you today,
(05:18):
we'd still take a bullet for I mean, she was,
she was transformational in our lives. People who had Jillian,
some of them still loved Jillian right, some of them
loved Bob. I will tell you at no point did
I feel like I was fat shamed. I did not
feel like I was made fun of. I literally felt
like I was part of a family. And what drew
(05:39):
me to the show is what has made me its
biggest advocate, and that is that I just knew that
I could change. They gave me the motivation to know
that if they could do it, then I could too.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Yeah, you were on that first season in the post
Jillian Michaels, era of The Biggest Loser. And I loved Jillian.
She's a former guest on this program. Came to Omaha
for an event, got a chance to meet her, and
total sweetheart, but scary. And some people are like, I
don't want to work with Gillian, she's mean. I'd rather
work with Bob. Bob seems like a nice guy. So
(06:13):
who was your trainer on that season?
Speaker 4 (06:16):
My trainer was Jen Wheederstrom was My season was called
Glory Days, and so you had to be a You
had to be a pretty decent athlete to be on
that show. So Jen was the first trainer post Jillian,
and yeah, she was amazing. Now, like I said, there
are people who lost Jillian also, you know, I mean
(06:39):
I never had the chance to meet her. She was
gone when I arrived, But yeah, I had Jen. Bob
was on the show as well, but I didn't know that.
We didn't know that until episode the end of episode
fifteen because with us being athletes, those who were eliminated
from the ranch unbeknownst to us went to a place
called Comeback Canyon where Bob was their trainer, and so
(07:01):
this was happening all season and we had no idea.
So at the end of that season, at the end
of episode fifteen, which is the end of Makeover, the
doors open and here comes Bob Harper with his Comeback
Canyon contestant, and it blew our minds. So yeah, it
was a whole lot. But yeah, we loved Jen. Those
(07:22):
who had Bob loved Bob. Those who had Delvett loved Alvett.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Okay, yeah, there were as you said there you had
to be athletes, and of course you, as you said,
you know, you were a gym teacher. But you were
on there against players who played in the National Football League.
I believe there were at least one former Olympian who
were on the show. So you weren't exactly set up
to succeed, but you made it all the way to
(07:45):
the finals, where you ended up runner up on the show.
And for those who are not familiar with the show,
it's not about who loses the most weight, it's the
highest percentage of weight loss. So obviously I want to
know your numbers. If that's really indelicate to say, but
you started out where and then you ended up where.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
Sure, so I was. My starting weight was two hundred
and eighty three pounds, which is awesome if you're seven
foot tall. I'm five foot four, so I was two
eighty three. My ending weight was one hundred and thirty
nine pounds, which was about thirty one pounds underweight. But
I was trying to win. Yeah, you're right, I was.
I was kind of one of the underdogs because we
had some amazing athletes. You know, Damien Woody, two times
(08:29):
Super Bowl champion, Scott Mitchell was a quarterback in the
NFL for twelve seasons. Loorie Harrigan Mack was a three
time gold medalist. I mean, just amazing athletes. And then
there's Simony Jones, who I was a two time All American,
but from a little D three school in the middle
of Cornfields in central Illinois. But yeah, so my ending
weight was one thirty nine. I lost the titles biggest
(08:51):
Loser by point zero one percent of my body weight,
which was the closest margin of lost and biggesses or history.
So I lost if two hundred and fifty thousand dollars
by less than a pound.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
So when you get that close, are you like, oh,
that's what I get for breathing. I shouldn't have taken
that last breath.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
No, not at all. I fully believed that that that
was God's plan for my life. I like, even if
I could go back and change it right now, I
wouldn't because honestly, I did everything right. I did everything perfectly.
I ate correctly, I slept correctly, I drank correctly, I
worked out perfectly, and so I it was not meant
to be. And that night the best person one and
(09:35):
that was Toma. You know, he deserved to win. He
and I started together, we ended together. If I was
going to lose to anybody, I'm glad that it was him.
Did it sting in the moment, absolutely, But what I
got to do was, you know, being a former gym teacher,
I got to model before my students what I had
said for so long that you know, it really isn't
whether you wear it lose, but it's how do you
(09:55):
play the game. And I had, you know, I had,
we had the ability to model before them that even
in the face of a huge loss, like quarter of
a million dollars, So we still have a responsibility to
lose with you know, mercy and grace and integrity. And
I got to model that before my kids. So I
didn't sing in the moment, sure, but I knew that
(10:17):
it was just opening up a platform for me that
was so much bigger than weight loss. You know, who
would have thought that eleven years later, I'd be sitting
in my living room having a conversation with you right
in Omaha about my experience. So I'm grateful for it.
Every day's right, Like I said, I'd leave the day
and do it all over again.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Yeah, I'm not talking to Toma, I'm talking to you.
So who's the Who's the winner? Now?
Speaker 4 (10:41):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
We're talking to Sonya Jones for a few more minutes,
a finalist on season sixteen of The Biggest Loser. She's
coming to Omaha November six for an event with Deer Diabetes.
All the details at deerdiabetes dot org. But as you mentioned,
there is this documentary that's out now on Netflix right
where you have people who were in testants like you
(11:03):
on this show, The Biggest Loser, and they said it
was dangerous. I almost died. This is a terrible message
to send to people. Not everyone saying that, but you
do have some of that in the show. What are
your thoughts on that?
Speaker 4 (11:16):
You know, I want to respect everyone's experience, I really do.
But what I will tell you is that you saw
on the documentary a man named doctor Robert Heisinger. Doctor
H was our show's position, and I will tell you
that before we went on the show, this is my
own personal experience. I was put through rigorous physical physical testing,
(11:38):
so h you know, I had to do stress tests,
I had to do psychological testing. I had to do
a lot of blood work and all kinds of stuffs
through doctor H's office in Beverly Hills, and they made
sure that we were that we were you know, well
taken care of, and we were strong enough to make
it through the uh through what they were going to
(12:01):
put us through. I mean, I knew that it was
going to be a lot. I didn't realize how intent
it was going to be, obviously, but man, they took
really good care of it.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
So that's Sonya Jones. That's the person coming to town
on November six for this event for Dear Diabetes. So
we need to get people to the event. As we're
talking here with Lori lewis president of this organization. Where
is the event? How can people get tickets? And when
do they need to register?
Speaker 3 (12:26):
The event is going to be held at Metro Community
College at the Fort Omaha campus and registration starts at
eleven o'clock with lunch at eleven thirty and then we'll
hear from Sonya. Tickets are available online at deardiabetes dot org,
so you can buy your tickets now. Registration deadline is
October seventeenth, so we can give Metro plenty of time
(12:47):
to make sure that they know how many people to serve.
And then in addition to Sonya, we also have keen
our breakout speakers that will be following Sonya's keynote speech,
so we're really excited to have four additional speakers. Following lunch,
we also have a book signing and Sonya is going
to bring some autographed books. So book sales are available.
(13:08):
They're online right now and you can pick up your
books the day of the event.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Excellent. So how do people get tickets? And obviously with
an October seventeenth deadline coming up, but they need to
be able to do this right now. What do they
need to do right now?
Speaker 3 (13:20):
They can go online to deardiabetes dot org. There's an
option to click on shop, or they can go to
our page and learn more about the event, and there's
also an option there to choose your tickets and purchase tickets.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Dear diabetes dot org. We're talking with the president of
that organization, Lori Lewis. The event is coming up here
in Omaha November sixth, So make sure to go to
the website deardiabetes dot org right now to learn more
about the event and register for tickets so you can
be a part of this special event. When we're talking
about diabetes right now in twenty twenty five, there's the
(13:56):
phenomenon of some of these GLP one weight loss drugs,
sometimes more commonly known as things like Ozepic and those
brand names. Has that done anything to help the fight
against diabetes because some of the results of how people
look and say they feel is astonishing. What about on
(14:17):
the front here when it comes to diabetes.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
So we have heard of a number of people who
have utilized the golp ones and it has been life
changing for them. Obviously, we're not medical providers, and they
need to talk to their physician, but we do know
that that plays a role in management of diabetes, and
it has been beneficial to a number of people.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Right, And also though I think in every circumstances individual,
I certainly don't want to put forth any kind of
stereotype that says that diabetes is only for people who
are overweight. It absolutely isn't.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
Absolutely, So there's people that have diabetes, all different types
of diabetes. So whether it's type one or it's type two.
There's also MODI, there's LATA, which is another form of diabetes,
and so it's not about always about weight. There are
a number of different factors that contribute to diabetes.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
So and this is obviously for a medical care, healthcare
provider and that patient to determine the best course of
strategy for dealing with the diabetes there. So your organization then,
when there's all these different types of diabetes, how does
your organization deal with the myriad health issues there to
be able to help the person who has their own
(15:37):
unique form of diabetes.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
So our role is really providing those educators at the events.
We are not medical professionals, as I mentioned, we provide
access to those professionals to talk about the latest So
as an example, one of our speakers is going to
talk about the new pump technology. There's a lot of
technology that's out there. We also have a speak that's
(16:00):
going to talk about the latest in diagnosing and identifying
diabetes early. So providing those educators at these events help
individuals understand that there's a lot of new technology and
therapies that are available in the market.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Resources and more information available on that website deardiabetes dot org.
That's deardiabetes dot org. Laurie Lewis President of Dear Diabetes,
who once again tell people what they need to do
right now so they can be a part of this
fun event here in Omaha on November sixth.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
We want you to go to our website deardiabetes dot
org purchase tickets. I also mention that we're going to
have some door prizes, We'll have some raffle items, and
if you're not sure if you have diabetes, we have
Methodist College will be there to do a one C
testing so you can get tested during the event. And
even if you don't have diabetes, if you just want
(16:56):
to hear an inspirational and a motivational speaker, come and
hear about Signya and come and support someone else because
you may know someone in your family. With more than
ten percent of individuals living with diabetes, certainly you most
likely know someone who's been struggling with diabetes or has
been diagnosed with diabetes.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
To be a part of the event on November sixth
at the Metro Community College for at Omaha campus. It
is an October seventeenth deadline. To get your ticket reservation
in visit deardiabetes dot org today for information and to
be able to RSVP. Lorie Lewis with Dear Diabetes, thank
you so much for what you're doing for people in
our community, and as always, thanks a lot for telling
(17:36):
us about it here on Community Matters.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
Thank you, Scott.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
You're listening to Community Matters. And right now we welcome
back the donor recruitment manager with the Nebraska Community Blood
Bank online at NCBB dot org. It's Carrie Lundeen. Kerrie,
welcome back to Community Matters.
Speaker 5 (17:52):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
It's time for people to donate blood. We could say
that every day throughout the year. It's it's been particularly
bad here this summer. Right, We've got to get people
back in there to roll up their sleeves, right.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (18:07):
Nationally we've seen a huge downtrend in the amount of
donors that came out this summer, and we are feeling
that locally also.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
Okay, so I mean people say, like, well, if everyone
donated blood, how come you guys just can't use the
blood that's been donated. Let's start talking about this whole
process of donating blood and starting with if someone donates it,
how long can what's the shelf life?
Speaker 5 (18:29):
I guess for that, Well, the shelf life for donating
blood is forty two days. We don't see it that.
You know, we're only at about a three to four
day supply of most of the blood types, and that
is what we consider honestly near a critical level. We
would really like to be at a seven day supply, So.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
You're going through it pretty quickly, it sounds like, and
people generally think about donating blood in the wake of
a disaster, a lot of problems, you know, something, but
just every day medical use.
Speaker 5 (19:00):
Yeah, and I think it comes to people's top of
mind when they see traumatic events, possibly you know, in
the news and media cycles, but really it's used for
people who are fighting blood diseases every day, cancer patients,
newborn babies, also mothers and labor your you know, regular
every single day patients need blood, platelets and plasma.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
So what can someone do here If they're regular donors,
I'm sure that they know and they make that appointment
and they like sugar, cookies and all that stuff. For
those who are irregular donors who need to get back
at it or have never donated, what if people needed
to learn right now? What do they need to know?
Speaker 5 (19:39):
I think if you've never donated before, the myth is
is that it takes a long time, that needles in
your arm for a really long time. But once people
have donated, they realize how easy it is. It's only
in your arm for about seven to ten minutes. Yes,
we absolutely give you cookies and juice, yes, to say
thank you and entice you to come back. But you know,
(19:59):
regular owners, really, if you think about just donating once
a season, though, this is the longest summer ever, so
we consider this almost fall, but donating once a season
would be really beneficial to the blood supply in general.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
All right, so who should be donating in terms of
blood type? In terms I mean really it's just blood type, right.
Speaker 5 (20:23):
No, I mean any blood type. We always say that
the blood type that is needed most is the one
not already on the shelf. Soever, it does not matter
what your blood type is. But I will tell you
that only three percent of the population donates blood. So
there's not very many people who are taking care of
one hundred percent of the patients in our hospital, all.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Right, who should not be donating blood? Who? What are
those exclusions?
Speaker 4 (20:48):
Right?
Speaker 5 (20:48):
Actually a lot of people think that they're more likely
to be excluded than to be included. Over sixty percent
of the population is eligible to donate blood. Now you
got to take out anybody who's below the age of sixteen,
of course, but there is no upper age limit though,
And if you think that you're on a medication that
might defer you, you can just give us a call.
We'll let you know right away. The FDA also released
(21:11):
a bunch of guidelines previously before COVID that didn't allow
people to donate versus travel, and now a lot of
those have been uplifted, and so we've got a larger
donor base now for people who are eligible. Mad cow
disease was one people who were stationed over in Europe
in the eighties and the nineties that was lifted, not
(21:33):
a lot of people actually know that as much as
we tell people, but they don't realize that. And it
really affected our military donors who wanted to come in
and donate and we had to say no. But now
they can come in and donate too.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
I don't know if it's like this at your place
of work or with your family or whatever, but everyone's
been just a little bit sick now for several weeks
and people say, well, I can't donate blood if I'm sick.
What percentage of sick did someone have to be because
everyone lately is like I don't know if as allergies
or what, but my throat hurts, you know everyone.
Speaker 5 (22:04):
Yeah, we actually consider cold and flu season our January
and February. But we're seeing of course that too, and yeah,
we don't. We want you to be healthy, feeling good
when you come into donate before we ever take anything
from you. We want to make sure that your body
has everything you need. We consider the donor our very
first patient, and so it starts with them and being healthy.
(22:24):
But you know, it's times like that when people are
feeling ill. But it's now now that we're ending of
summer and we have school starting again. And everything. It's
just really busy. So more than seeing illness going around,
we're just seeing life happen. And that's that that matters
and will affect how many people can come out and donate.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
What if someone comes up to you and says, I
don't know if I weigh enough to give blood, and
you quickly size them up and go, you're fine, you know, like,
is there a nice way of saying it, Like you're
not that much of a waif you can.
Speaker 5 (22:56):
It's one hundred and ten pounds, okay. And so you
know a lot of people who want to donate blood,
they have that covered and we usually don't have to.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
That rules out my left leg. But there you go, right,
that's good here. So any other exclusions that people need
to know about.
Speaker 5 (23:14):
I think the one that people also don't realize is tattoos.
So the big you know, theory is that if you've
got a tattoo, you can't donate blood for a whole year.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
That rules out my right leg.
Speaker 5 (23:24):
Oh well, not be more.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
It does. I have a tattoo on my left leg.
On my right leg. It's kind of bizarre, but I
gotta be me. So if you did it used to
be where if you have tattoos, you can't donate.
Speaker 5 (23:36):
Bah No, you couldn't donate for a year, but that
has gone. There's actually no deferral. So you can tattoo
your left leg onto your right leg and on the
same day you can donate blood.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
You can sit there and having a needle in your arm,
you know, giving blood with your left arm. We'll get
it a tattoo that says my mama doesn't love me
on your right arm. At the same time I would ask.
Speaker 5 (23:56):
For a thirty minute break in between.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
To say, maybe that could be your push here, Carrie.
Speaker 5 (24:02):
We actually have a blood drives with tattoo parlors. They
are super fun and it's a really perfect time to
educate a group of people who are just thought that
they could never donate blood because they were regularly getting tattoos.
And now we're saying no, please con gr.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Any other myths that need to be dispelled here. This
is very educational.
Speaker 5 (24:19):
I mean there is I think always myths around blood donation,
but it's also a very personal act. And so if
you you know, if you want to donate blood but
you just don't know, if you can just give us
a call. We'll be able to tell you right away.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
Okay, details at NCBB dot org. That's Nebraska Community Blood Bank.
We're talking with Kerry lundin donor recruitment manager with the
Nebraska Community Blood Bank. And people hear about blood drives
and activities and carnivals and stuff going all the time.
You don't need to wait for any of that. What's
the process for making an appointment and taking time out
(24:52):
of your day and going to do it? And where
do you go do this kind of thing.
Speaker 5 (24:55):
Yeah, we've actually got two donation centers opened up here
at Omaha, one on a hun twentieth and Pacific one
on one hundred and thirty second and West Maple Road.
But we also have blood drives in the area. So
if you go to our website, you can just search
by your zip code, find the most convenient location for
you and stop buy and donate, or you can again
call us up we'll make an appointment. But even easier
(25:18):
if you just stop on buy, you can come in
and we won't turn you away.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
Yeah, yeah, that's not something I don't know. I mean,
we've both been doing all this kind of thing for
a long time. Here. I've never talked to anyone associated
with the blood drive or something that said, actually, we're good,
we don't need I mean it's always in.
Speaker 5 (25:37):
Need, yes, always in need. We accommodate as many people
as possible, but really the mere fact of the matter
is is that we just don't have enough donors right now.
So we need more donors. We you know, we we
supply blood to Nebraska Medicine, a Level one trauma hospital,
a transplant hospital. We supply blood to the Methodist health
(25:58):
systems that include Children's Hospital, Boys Town, the Brian Health
System out of Link, and these are major hospital systems
that need a lot of blood, and we simply don't
really have enough donors to supply that. So we're asking people,
if you've never donated before, try it just one time
and you'll experience how easy it is.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
I can't imagine what it would be like to be
in a situation to where it's someone who needs a
transplant or something and there's not blood available right there
at that location for them to get what they need
right now, Like we got to wait on it. We're
bringing it in. Just sit there for a second. I mean,
this is the reality when there's not enough blood available
(26:40):
for things like this.
Speaker 5 (26:41):
Yeah, the good news is that we have really strong
partnerships with these hospitals. We're in communication with them every
single day, so they know before anybody else what our
blood supply levels are and can make those decisions on
where the blood is needed most at that time. But I,
without a doubt, I've been in this business with Nebraska
Community bud Bank for eleven years. We have not had
one time where a patient was not able to receive
(27:04):
blood because we didn't have it available for them.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Good well, and then someone might hear that and go, oh, well,
then you don't need me, right.
Speaker 5 (27:12):
Only three percent of the population donates, and as much
as I can proudly say that nearly one hundred percent
of the blood that's donated with Nebraska Community Blood Bink
stays right here in our states, we actually need help
from our sister blood banks around the country to send
more blood and platelets and plasmas to us. So that's
(27:33):
again another reason why we need more donors right here.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
Plus it's kind of fun to find out what your
blood type is. Like a lot of us, you know,
we find out what our blood type is and then
forget it. I think my blood type is barbecue sauce
do you need that.
Speaker 5 (27:47):
That's a little thick. I'm not quite sure how well
that would transfuse, so pass. But you know, it's amazing
how many people we talk to who do not know
their blood type. I mean in the sense of that
you don't. They don't type you when you're born. It's
not on your driver's license, it's not on your birth certificate.
So a lot of people, if they've never given blood
(28:08):
or needed blood, or they didn't and their doctor didn't
anticipate them needing blood, they do not know their blood type.
We're going to tell you for free.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
Since you work at the Nebraska Community Blood Bank. Can
you see someone bleed just for a second and just
identify it just on site?
Speaker 5 (28:23):
I can.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
That'd be a fun party for you.
Speaker 5 (28:24):
You can see no negative right right away.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
Yeah, yeah, that's type baby. All right, Well fun, invite
carry to your party. Yeah, and bleed for her, and
it's fun for everybody. You're donating blood. She's identifying your
bloods type by you can do it blindfolded.
Speaker 5 (28:41):
Absolutely throwing darts at an apple over your head.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
Before this conversation gets even dumber than it already is,
let's point people to what they need to do right
now so they can make it a healthy habit to
go out there and donate blood.
Speaker 5 (28:55):
This is a great time to come out and donate.
If you've never donated before, have your fall donation, come
back and see us in the winter, and then, you know,
make a promise to yourself and to help your community
to donate once a season and become a lifelong savor
of patients in our hospitals.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
NCBB dot org The Nebraska Community Blood Bank NCBB dot org.
Gary Lundine, donor Recruitment manager for the Nebraska Community Blood Bank,
Thank you so much for what you're doing for people
here in our community, and as always, thanks for telling
us about it on Community Matters.
Speaker 5 (29:29):
Appreciate the helping us get the word out.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
This has been Community Matters, a weekly public affairs special
on CAT one O three, Omaha's Greatest Hits, ninety nine
point nine kg R News Radio, eleven ten KFAB, Country's
Greatest Hits ninety three three The Wolf, and ninety six
one Kiss FM. Thank you so much for listening and
enjoy the rest of your day.
This is Community Matters, a weekly public affairs program to
inform and entertain you with some of the great people, organizations,
and events in and around Omaha. Now here's the host
of the program from news radio eleven ten KFAB. It's
Scott for Heats.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Thank you so much for being with us on Community
Matters this week. It's a pleasure to welcome back to
the show the president of Dear Diabetes DEAAR and acronym
dear Diabetes online at deardiabetes dot org. It's Lorie Lewis
back here on the show. Laurie, thanks a lot for
coming in.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Thank you, Scott. I appreciate you having me.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Once again fill in the acronym dear.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Diabetes Diabetes Education, Awareness and Resources.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Yes, so tell me about what your organization does and
then we'll tell people how they can be a part
of a really fun event coming up here in Omaha
very very soon.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
So the things that we do we the educational events.
As you mentioned, we have an educational event coming up
in November, and then in addition to that, we also
provide funding to individuals living below the poverty line who
are struggling to make ends meet as a result of
dealing with their diagnosis of diabetes, so we help them
(01:18):
with rent assistance. We also help them with utilities so
that they can free up those funds to be able
to pay for medications.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Yeah, and when we talk about an educational event, immediately
people say that sounds like a lecture seminar. No, the
speaker you're bringing into town is super fun. In fact,
you're going to hear from her. Momentarily, tell me about
who's coming to town for this event.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
We are really excited to have Sonya Jones as our
guest speaker, our keynote speaker at the event. She was
on the Biggest Loser and she lost over fifty percent
of her body weight. We're just really excited to have her.
She's motivational, she's inspirational, she's a lot of fun. So
again we're excited to have her.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Yeah, her book forty four Lessons from a Loser. Yes,
then the Biggest Loser on NBC. I was very lucky
to talk to Sonya Jones on my news radio eleven
ten KFAB program recently. In fact, here's a little bit
of that conversation.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
Hey, Scott, Thanks, it's great to be with you. I'm
I'm thrilled to becoming your direction here in about a
month and a half.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Yeah, deardiabetes dot org, where you can get all the
details about the event, and we'll talk about that as well.
But I have to ask you about your life leading
up to not just being on the Biggest Loser, but
I imagine seeing that TV show, having mirrors in your
home and wondering whether any of this might be a
(02:42):
good fit for you. How did that whole journey start?
Speaker 4 (02:46):
Man? If I'm being honest, I have loved The Biggest
Loser since the first season. I would sit and watch
it with my best friend. We would we'd sit with
a big old pizza and a two liter or soda
and we'd eat and drink. And that's what got me
to my starting work of two hundred and eighty three pounds.
But I actually as weird as it is. I wrote
a Facebook post back in two thousand and nine that
(03:09):
essentially said it was called twenty five random things you
may not know about Me, and number nine on that
list was that I secretly had a desire to be
a contestant on The Biggest Loser. And I mean just
the way that it worked out. It was six years
to the day the date, the minute, and the hour
(03:29):
that I was standing on the show for my grand finale.
So I had always loved the show. I only tried
out once. Most people try out seven, eight, ten times.
But yeah, leading up to the show was I was
a pe teacher, I was a you know, a track coach,
but felt like a hypocrite because I was supposed to
(03:51):
be the model of health and wellness for my community
and felt like an absolute embarrassment. So when I got
the call to go on Biggest Loser, I was like, man,
I'm always.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Well, let's let's talk about that for a second, because
I think that there was this feeling that the first
of all the TV show, The Biggest Loser, some people said,
was mocking, making fun of, belittling, looking down on, or
shaming people who were overweight. And here you were overweight,
watching the show and loving it. What was it? What
(04:23):
was it a guilty pleasure? Was it like, all right,
maybe I can stand to lose a few pounds, but
I don't look like that guy, Like what was it
that drew you to that show?
Speaker 4 (04:33):
No, not that at all. What drew me to the
show is the same thing that you won't hear from
me from the stage, if you come to the to
the luncheon, is that what brought me to that show
was the possibility that if they could change, I quite
possibly could too. It gave me hope, It gave me motivation.
I fell in love with some of the contesteds hated,
(04:55):
so some of the others not hated, but you know,
did not identify with them nearly as much. And I
will tell you, you know, with with a documentary that
just came out on Netflix and the things that you heard,
I will tell you one hundred percent that was not
my experience. I loved the experience. I loved my trainer.
All of us who had our trainer, I'm telling you today,
(05:18):
we'd still take a bullet for I mean, she was,
she was transformational in our lives. People who had Jillian,
some of them still loved Jillian right, some of them
loved Bob. I will tell you at no point did
I feel like I was fat shamed. I did not
feel like I was made fun of. I literally felt
like I was part of a family. And what drew
(05:39):
me to the show is what has made me its
biggest advocate, and that is that I just knew that
I could change. They gave me the motivation to know
that if they could do it, then I could too.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Yeah, you were on that first season in the post
Jillian Michaels, era of The Biggest Loser. And I loved Jillian.
She's a former guest on this program. Came to Omaha
for an event, got a chance to meet her, and
total sweetheart, but scary. And some people are like, I
don't want to work with Gillian, she's mean. I'd rather
work with Bob. Bob seems like a nice guy. So
(06:13):
who was your trainer on that season?
Speaker 4 (06:16):
My trainer was Jen Wheederstrom was My season was called
Glory Days, and so you had to be a You
had to be a pretty decent athlete to be on
that show. So Jen was the first trainer post Jillian,
and yeah, she was amazing. Now, like I said, there
are people who lost Jillian also, you know, I mean
(06:39):
I never had the chance to meet her. She was
gone when I arrived, But yeah, I had Jen. Bob
was on the show as well, but I didn't know that.
We didn't know that until episode the end of episode
fifteen because with us being athletes, those who were eliminated
from the ranch unbeknownst to us went to a place
called Comeback Canyon where Bob was their trainer, and so
(07:01):
this was happening all season and we had no idea.
So at the end of that season, at the end
of episode fifteen, which is the end of Makeover, the
doors open and here comes Bob Harper with his Comeback
Canyon contestant, and it blew our minds. So yeah, it
was a whole lot. But yeah, we loved Jen. Those
(07:22):
who had Bob loved Bob. Those who had Delvett loved Alvett.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Okay, yeah, there were as you said there you had
to be athletes, and of course you, as you said,
you know, you were a gym teacher. But you were
on there against players who played in the National Football League.
I believe there were at least one former Olympian who
were on the show. So you weren't exactly set up
to succeed, but you made it all the way to
(07:45):
the finals, where you ended up runner up on the show.
And for those who are not familiar with the show,
it's not about who loses the most weight, it's the
highest percentage of weight loss. So obviously I want to
know your numbers. If that's really indelicate to say, but
you started out where and then you ended up where.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
Sure, so I was. My starting weight was two hundred
and eighty three pounds, which is awesome if you're seven
foot tall. I'm five foot four, so I was two
eighty three. My ending weight was one hundred and thirty
nine pounds, which was about thirty one pounds underweight. But
I was trying to win. Yeah, you're right, I was.
I was kind of one of the underdogs because we
had some amazing athletes. You know, Damien Woody, two times
(08:29):
Super Bowl champion, Scott Mitchell was a quarterback in the
NFL for twelve seasons. Loorie Harrigan Mack was a three
time gold medalist. I mean, just amazing athletes. And then
there's Simony Jones, who I was a two time All American,
but from a little D three school in the middle
of Cornfields in central Illinois. But yeah, so my ending
weight was one thirty nine. I lost the titles biggest
(08:51):
Loser by point zero one percent of my body weight,
which was the closest margin of lost and biggesses or history.
So I lost if two hundred and fifty thousand dollars
by less than a pound.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
So when you get that close, are you like, oh,
that's what I get for breathing. I shouldn't have taken
that last breath.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
No, not at all. I fully believed that that that
was God's plan for my life. I like, even if
I could go back and change it right now, I
wouldn't because honestly, I did everything right. I did everything perfectly.
I ate correctly, I slept correctly, I drank correctly, I
worked out perfectly, and so I it was not meant
to be. And that night the best person one and
(09:35):
that was Toma. You know, he deserved to win. He
and I started together, we ended together. If I was
going to lose to anybody, I'm glad that it was him.
Did it sting in the moment, absolutely, But what I
got to do was, you know, being a former gym teacher,
I got to model before my students what I had
said for so long that you know, it really isn't
whether you wear it lose, but it's how do you
(09:55):
play the game. And I had, you know, I had,
we had the ability to model before them that even
in the face of a huge loss, like quarter of
a million dollars, So we still have a responsibility to
lose with you know, mercy and grace and integrity. And
I got to model that before my kids. So I
didn't sing in the moment, sure, but I knew that
(10:17):
it was just opening up a platform for me that
was so much bigger than weight loss. You know, who
would have thought that eleven years later, I'd be sitting
in my living room having a conversation with you right
in Omaha about my experience. So I'm grateful for it.
Every day's right, Like I said, I'd leave the day
and do it all over again.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Yeah, I'm not talking to Toma, I'm talking to you.
So who's the Who's the winner? Now?
Speaker 4 (10:41):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
We're talking to Sonya Jones for a few more minutes,
a finalist on season sixteen of The Biggest Loser. She's
coming to Omaha November six for an event with Deer Diabetes.
All the details at deerdiabetes dot org. But as you mentioned,
there is this documentary that's out now on Netflix right
where you have people who were in testants like you
(11:03):
on this show, The Biggest Loser, and they said it
was dangerous. I almost died. This is a terrible message
to send to people. Not everyone saying that, but you
do have some of that in the show. What are
your thoughts on that?
Speaker 4 (11:16):
You know, I want to respect everyone's experience, I really do.
But what I will tell you is that you saw
on the documentary a man named doctor Robert Heisinger. Doctor
H was our show's position, and I will tell you
that before we went on the show, this is my
own personal experience. I was put through rigorous physical physical testing,
(11:38):
so h you know, I had to do stress tests,
I had to do psychological testing. I had to do
a lot of blood work and all kinds of stuffs
through doctor H's office in Beverly Hills, and they made
sure that we were that we were you know, well
taken care of, and we were strong enough to make
it through the uh through what they were going to
(12:01):
put us through. I mean, I knew that it was
going to be a lot. I didn't realize how intent
it was going to be, obviously, but man, they took
really good care of it.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
So that's Sonya Jones. That's the person coming to town
on November six for this event for Dear Diabetes. So
we need to get people to the event. As we're
talking here with Lori lewis president of this organization. Where
is the event? How can people get tickets? And when
do they need to register?
Speaker 3 (12:26):
The event is going to be held at Metro Community
College at the Fort Omaha campus and registration starts at
eleven o'clock with lunch at eleven thirty and then we'll
hear from Sonya. Tickets are available online at deardiabetes dot org,
so you can buy your tickets now. Registration deadline is
October seventeenth, so we can give Metro plenty of time
(12:47):
to make sure that they know how many people to serve.
And then in addition to Sonya, we also have keen
our breakout speakers that will be following Sonya's keynote speech,
so we're really excited to have four additional speakers. Following lunch,
we also have a book signing and Sonya is going
to bring some autographed books. So book sales are available.
(13:08):
They're online right now and you can pick up your
books the day of the event.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Excellent. So how do people get tickets? And obviously with
an October seventeenth deadline coming up, but they need to
be able to do this right now. What do they
need to do right now?
Speaker 3 (13:20):
They can go online to deardiabetes dot org. There's an
option to click on shop, or they can go to
our page and learn more about the event, and there's
also an option there to choose your tickets and purchase tickets.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Dear diabetes dot org. We're talking with the president of
that organization, Lori Lewis. The event is coming up here
in Omaha November sixth, So make sure to go to
the website deardiabetes dot org right now to learn more
about the event and register for tickets so you can
be a part of this special event. When we're talking
about diabetes right now in twenty twenty five, there's the
(13:56):
phenomenon of some of these GLP one weight loss drugs,
sometimes more commonly known as things like Ozepic and those
brand names. Has that done anything to help the fight
against diabetes because some of the results of how people
look and say they feel is astonishing. What about on
(14:17):
the front here when it comes to diabetes.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
So we have heard of a number of people who
have utilized the golp ones and it has been life
changing for them. Obviously, we're not medical providers, and they
need to talk to their physician, but we do know
that that plays a role in management of diabetes, and
it has been beneficial to a number of people.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Right, And also though I think in every circumstances individual,
I certainly don't want to put forth any kind of
stereotype that says that diabetes is only for people who
are overweight. It absolutely isn't.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
Absolutely, So there's people that have diabetes, all different types
of diabetes. So whether it's type one or it's type two.
There's also MODI, there's LATA, which is another form of diabetes,
and so it's not about always about weight. There are
a number of different factors that contribute to diabetes.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
So and this is obviously for a medical care, healthcare
provider and that patient to determine the best course of
strategy for dealing with the diabetes there. So your organization then,
when there's all these different types of diabetes, how does
your organization deal with the myriad health issues there to
be able to help the person who has their own
(15:37):
unique form of diabetes.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
So our role is really providing those educators at the events.
We are not medical professionals, as I mentioned, we provide
access to those professionals to talk about the latest So
as an example, one of our speakers is going to
talk about the new pump technology. There's a lot of
technology that's out there. We also have a speak that's
(16:00):
going to talk about the latest in diagnosing and identifying
diabetes early. So providing those educators at these events help
individuals understand that there's a lot of new technology and
therapies that are available in the market.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Resources and more information available on that website deardiabetes dot org.
That's deardiabetes dot org. Laurie Lewis President of Dear Diabetes,
who once again tell people what they need to do
right now so they can be a part of this
fun event here in Omaha on November sixth.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
We want you to go to our website deardiabetes dot
org purchase tickets. I also mention that we're going to
have some door prizes, We'll have some raffle items, and
if you're not sure if you have diabetes, we have
Methodist College will be there to do a one C
testing so you can get tested during the event. And
even if you don't have diabetes, if you just want
(16:56):
to hear an inspirational and a motivational speaker, come and
hear about Signya and come and support someone else because
you may know someone in your family. With more than
ten percent of individuals living with diabetes, certainly you most
likely know someone who's been struggling with diabetes or has
been diagnosed with diabetes.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
To be a part of the event on November sixth
at the Metro Community College for at Omaha campus. It
is an October seventeenth deadline. To get your ticket reservation
in visit deardiabetes dot org today for information and to
be able to RSVP. Lorie Lewis with Dear Diabetes, thank
you so much for what you're doing for people in
our community, and as always, thanks a lot for telling
(17:36):
us about it here on Community Matters.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
Thank you, Scott.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
You're listening to Community Matters. And right now we welcome
back the donor recruitment manager with the Nebraska Community Blood
Bank online at NCBB dot org. It's Carrie Lundeen. Kerrie,
welcome back to Community Matters.
Speaker 5 (17:52):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
It's time for people to donate blood. We could say
that every day throughout the year. It's it's been particularly
bad here this summer. Right, We've got to get people
back in there to roll up their sleeves, right.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (18:07):
Nationally we've seen a huge downtrend in the amount of
donors that came out this summer, and we are feeling
that locally also.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
Okay, so I mean people say, like, well, if everyone
donated blood, how come you guys just can't use the
blood that's been donated. Let's start talking about this whole
process of donating blood and starting with if someone donates it,
how long can what's the shelf life?
Speaker 5 (18:29):
I guess for that, Well, the shelf life for donating
blood is forty two days. We don't see it that.
You know, we're only at about a three to four
day supply of most of the blood types, and that
is what we consider honestly near a critical level. We
would really like to be at a seven day supply, So.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
You're going through it pretty quickly, it sounds like, and
people generally think about donating blood in the wake of
a disaster, a lot of problems, you know, something, but
just every day medical use.
Speaker 5 (19:00):
Yeah, and I think it comes to people's top of
mind when they see traumatic events, possibly you know, in
the news and media cycles, but really it's used for
people who are fighting blood diseases every day, cancer patients,
newborn babies, also mothers and labor your you know, regular
every single day patients need blood, platelets and plasma.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
So what can someone do here If they're regular donors,
I'm sure that they know and they make that appointment
and they like sugar, cookies and all that stuff. For
those who are irregular donors who need to get back
at it or have never donated, what if people needed
to learn right now? What do they need to know?
Speaker 5 (19:39):
I think if you've never donated before, the myth is
is that it takes a long time, that needles in
your arm for a really long time. But once people
have donated, they realize how easy it is. It's only
in your arm for about seven to ten minutes. Yes,
we absolutely give you cookies and juice, yes, to say
thank you and entice you to come back. But you know,
(19:59):
regular owners, really, if you think about just donating once
a season, though, this is the longest summer ever, so
we consider this almost fall, but donating once a season
would be really beneficial to the blood supply in general.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
All right, so who should be donating in terms of
blood type? In terms I mean really it's just blood type, right.
Speaker 5 (20:23):
No, I mean any blood type. We always say that
the blood type that is needed most is the one
not already on the shelf. Soever, it does not matter
what your blood type is. But I will tell you
that only three percent of the population donates blood. So
there's not very many people who are taking care of
one hundred percent of the patients in our hospital, all.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Right, who should not be donating blood? Who? What are
those exclusions?
Speaker 4 (20:48):
Right?
Speaker 5 (20:48):
Actually a lot of people think that they're more likely
to be excluded than to be included. Over sixty percent
of the population is eligible to donate blood. Now you
got to take out anybody who's below the age of sixteen,
of course, but there is no upper age limit though,
And if you think that you're on a medication that
might defer you, you can just give us a call.
We'll let you know right away. The FDA also released
(21:11):
a bunch of guidelines previously before COVID that didn't allow
people to donate versus travel, and now a lot of
those have been uplifted, and so we've got a larger
donor base now for people who are eligible. Mad cow
disease was one people who were stationed over in Europe
in the eighties and the nineties that was lifted, not
(21:33):
a lot of people actually know that as much as
we tell people, but they don't realize that. And it
really affected our military donors who wanted to come in
and donate and we had to say no. But now
they can come in and donate too.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
I don't know if it's like this at your place
of work or with your family or whatever, but everyone's
been just a little bit sick now for several weeks
and people say, well, I can't donate blood if I'm sick.
What percentage of sick did someone have to be because
everyone lately is like I don't know if as allergies
or what, but my throat hurts, you know everyone.
Speaker 5 (22:04):
Yeah, we actually consider cold and flu season our January
and February. But we're seeing of course that too, and yeah,
we don't. We want you to be healthy, feeling good
when you come into donate before we ever take anything
from you. We want to make sure that your body
has everything you need. We consider the donor our very
first patient, and so it starts with them and being healthy.
(22:24):
But you know, it's times like that when people are
feeling ill. But it's now now that we're ending of
summer and we have school starting again. And everything. It's
just really busy. So more than seeing illness going around,
we're just seeing life happen. And that's that that matters
and will affect how many people can come out and donate.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
What if someone comes up to you and says, I
don't know if I weigh enough to give blood, and
you quickly size them up and go, you're fine, you know, like,
is there a nice way of saying it, Like you're
not that much of a waif you can.
Speaker 5 (22:56):
It's one hundred and ten pounds, okay. And so you
know a lot of people who want to donate blood,
they have that covered and we usually don't have to.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
That rules out my left leg. But there you go, right,
that's good here. So any other exclusions that people need
to know about.
Speaker 5 (23:14):
I think the one that people also don't realize is tattoos.
So the big you know, theory is that if you've
got a tattoo, you can't donate blood for a whole year.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
That rules out my right leg.
Speaker 5 (23:24):
Oh well, not be more.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
It does. I have a tattoo on my left leg.
On my right leg. It's kind of bizarre, but I
gotta be me. So if you did it used to
be where if you have tattoos, you can't donate.
Speaker 5 (23:36):
Bah No, you couldn't donate for a year, but that
has gone. There's actually no deferral. So you can tattoo
your left leg onto your right leg and on the
same day you can donate blood.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
You can sit there and having a needle in your arm,
you know, giving blood with your left arm. We'll get
it a tattoo that says my mama doesn't love me
on your right arm. At the same time I would ask.
Speaker 5 (23:56):
For a thirty minute break in between.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
To say, maybe that could be your push here, Carrie.
Speaker 5 (24:02):
We actually have a blood drives with tattoo parlors. They
are super fun and it's a really perfect time to
educate a group of people who are just thought that
they could never donate blood because they were regularly getting tattoos.
And now we're saying no, please con gr.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Any other myths that need to be dispelled here. This
is very educational.
Speaker 5 (24:19):
I mean there is I think always myths around blood donation,
but it's also a very personal act. And so if
you you know, if you want to donate blood but
you just don't know, if you can just give us
a call. We'll be able to tell you right away.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
Okay, details at NCBB dot org. That's Nebraska Community Blood Bank.
We're talking with Kerry lundin donor recruitment manager with the
Nebraska Community Blood Bank. And people hear about blood drives
and activities and carnivals and stuff going all the time.
You don't need to wait for any of that. What's
the process for making an appointment and taking time out
(24:52):
of your day and going to do it? And where
do you go do this kind of thing.
Speaker 5 (24:55):
Yeah, we've actually got two donation centers opened up here
at Omaha, one on a hun twentieth and Pacific one
on one hundred and thirty second and West Maple Road.
But we also have blood drives in the area. So
if you go to our website, you can just search
by your zip code, find the most convenient location for
you and stop buy and donate, or you can again
call us up we'll make an appointment. But even easier
(25:18):
if you just stop on buy, you can come in
and we won't turn you away.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
Yeah, yeah, that's not something I don't know. I mean,
we've both been doing all this kind of thing for
a long time. Here. I've never talked to anyone associated
with the blood drive or something that said, actually, we're good,
we don't need I mean it's always in.
Speaker 5 (25:37):
Need, yes, always in need. We accommodate as many people
as possible, but really the mere fact of the matter
is is that we just don't have enough donors right now.
So we need more donors. We you know, we we
supply blood to Nebraska Medicine, a Level one trauma hospital,
a transplant hospital. We supply blood to the Methodist health
(25:58):
systems that include Children's Hospital, Boys Town, the Brian Health
System out of Link, and these are major hospital systems
that need a lot of blood, and we simply don't
really have enough donors to supply that. So we're asking people,
if you've never donated before, try it just one time
and you'll experience how easy it is.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
I can't imagine what it would be like to be
in a situation to where it's someone who needs a
transplant or something and there's not blood available right there
at that location for them to get what they need
right now, Like we got to wait on it. We're
bringing it in. Just sit there for a second. I mean,
this is the reality when there's not enough blood available
(26:40):
for things like this.
Speaker 5 (26:41):
Yeah, the good news is that we have really strong
partnerships with these hospitals. We're in communication with them every
single day, so they know before anybody else what our
blood supply levels are and can make those decisions on
where the blood is needed most at that time. But I,
without a doubt, I've been in this business with Nebraska
Community bud Bank for eleven years. We have not had
one time where a patient was not able to receive
(27:04):
blood because we didn't have it available for them.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Good well, and then someone might hear that and go, oh, well,
then you don't need me, right.
Speaker 5 (27:12):
Only three percent of the population donates, and as much
as I can proudly say that nearly one hundred percent
of the blood that's donated with Nebraska Community Blood Bink
stays right here in our states, we actually need help
from our sister blood banks around the country to send
more blood and platelets and plasmas to us. So that's
(27:33):
again another reason why we need more donors right here.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
Plus it's kind of fun to find out what your
blood type is. Like a lot of us, you know,
we find out what our blood type is and then
forget it. I think my blood type is barbecue sauce
do you need that.
Speaker 5 (27:47):
That's a little thick. I'm not quite sure how well
that would transfuse, so pass. But you know, it's amazing
how many people we talk to who do not know
their blood type. I mean in the sense of that
you don't. They don't type you when you're born. It's
not on your driver's license, it's not on your birth certificate.
So a lot of people, if they've never given blood
(28:08):
or needed blood, or they didn't and their doctor didn't
anticipate them needing blood, they do not know their blood type.
We're going to tell you for free.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
Since you work at the Nebraska Community Blood Bank. Can
you see someone bleed just for a second and just
identify it just on site?
Speaker 5 (28:23):
I can.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
That'd be a fun party for you.
Speaker 5 (28:24):
You can see no negative right right away.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
Yeah, yeah, that's type baby. All right, Well fun, invite
carry to your party. Yeah, and bleed for her, and
it's fun for everybody. You're donating blood. She's identifying your
bloods type by you can do it blindfolded.
Speaker 5 (28:41):
Absolutely throwing darts at an apple over your head.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
Before this conversation gets even dumber than it already is,
let's point people to what they need to do right
now so they can make it a healthy habit to
go out there and donate blood.
Speaker 5 (28:55):
This is a great time to come out and donate.
If you've never donated before, have your fall donation, come
back and see us in the winter, and then, you know,
make a promise to yourself and to help your community
to donate once a season and become a lifelong savor
of patients in our hospitals.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
NCBB dot org The Nebraska Community Blood Bank NCBB dot org.
Gary Lundine, donor Recruitment manager for the Nebraska Community Blood Bank,
Thank you so much for what you're doing for people
here in our community, and as always, thanks for telling
us about it on Community Matters.
Speaker 5 (29:29):
Appreciate the helping us get the word out.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
This has been Community Matters, a weekly public affairs special
on CAT one O three, Omaha's Greatest Hits, ninety nine
point nine kg R News Radio, eleven ten KFAB, Country's
Greatest Hits ninety three three The Wolf, and ninety six
one Kiss FM. Thank you so much for listening and
enjoy the rest of your day.
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