BLOOD COUNT Port Arthur man nears 100th donation; LifeShare shares amazing impact and need for more

Russel Buss is an undeniable force.

The Port Arthur resident originally from Michigan who has a deep love for college sports is a dedicated member of the Rotary Club of Port Arthur, for which he previously served as president. And he can be seen faithfully in attendance at the Masonic Lodge on Lakeshore Drive.

But he can also be frequently found at a LifeShare Blood Center donation site.

“I hope I’ve helped some people,” he said one day last year after donating. Statistically, he’s helped more than 250.

On Dec. 9, Buss donated his 91st pint of blood, and he’s scheduled to return to LifeShare in March.

“It’s just been something that I’ve liked doing,” he said. “I think it’s a good thing, and I’m glad that I’m able to give blood like that. It’s a small thing a person can do if they’re able just to help their society.”

Helping Others

Buss donated blood for the first time when his wife was pregnant and faced difficulty due to the fact that her blood was Rh-negative.

“I got some of my friends, and we gave blood for that,” he recalled. “And one time my mother-in-law had a knee replacement, and she needed blood at that time. We went down there and we gave blood then.”

Afterward, Buss, 78, moved to the

Austin area, where he occasionally donated. And after locating to Southeast Texas, he began donating along with others at a Lake Charles refinery.

“I started giving blood then every chance I could,” he said. “Then I just got going with the LifeShare people and never stopped. At that time, one of the most unique things was that you would donate blood and LifeShare would call you about two weeks later and tell you that your blood was instrumental in saving the life of somebody. That would give me such a good feeling.”

In addition to frequently donating, Buss often hosts mobile blood drives through the Masonic Lodge or individually in and around Port Arthur.

“I don’t know where we would be without people like Mr. Buss,” said Alison Smith with LifeShare. “You watch the news at night and it seems there’s a shooting almost every day. What comes to my mind first is how many pints of blood that requires.”

The blood donated to LifeShare is used locally. The organization serves Jefferson, Orange, Hardin, Liberty, Jasper and

Chambers counties.

Tiffany Ybarra with LifeShare said one donation can help more than one person because the blood is separated into its components of red cells and plasma.

Each donation can save as many as three lives.

Filling The Need

Someone will need blood every two seconds, according to information from LifeShare. In addition, one in three people will require a blood transfusion at some point in their lifetime.

However, filling that need is a continued challenge.

“We have been down since mid-December,” Smith said of the supply. “We have so much to make up for. We’re seeing a little bit of an increase, but hopefully we can continue seeing that.”

As Smith spoke in late January, a team from LifeShare was at Hardin High School collecting blood. The following week, they would be at Lamar University. And on Jan. 25, they spent the day at Port Neches-Groves High School.

That drive, hosted by the National Honor Society, brought in 124 units of blood.

And while it’s more community members than students that donate at school drives, Smith said it’s important they reach out to the younger generation.

“When I go out to the schools and talk to the kids, they don’t realize how many lives it saves,” she said. “When you get out there, they learn it’s meaningful.”