Johnston's Miss Iowa Advocates For Blood Donations, Awareness

One pint of blood has the power to save three lives.

Blood donations saved the life of Rita Pray 19 years ago after she gave birth to daughter Jessica.

Jessica, the current Miss Iowa, has held the story close to her heart for more than five years after first becoming involved in the Student Council blood drive.

"I hear a lot of people that they are afraid to give blood. I can sympathize with that. I consider myself more a volunteer than a donor."

Now in her role of Miss Iowa, Pray has crossed the state advocating about the benefits of donating and volunteering for blood donations. Pray has attended blood drives, conferences and talked about her cause at the Miss America Pageant earlier this month.

Pray placed in the top 10 contestants and received $16,000 in scholarships, while advocating for blood donation on a national level.

But Pray's involvement in raising the number of blood donations started many years ago at a high school blood drive.

"I made this my cause because of my personal blood donation story," she said of her mother, who hemorrhaged after giving birth to Jessica. "She would have died from that without a (blood) donation."

Miss Iowa Knows Firsthand that Blood Donors Save Lives

Rita Pray said she’s had several blood transfusions in her lifetime, but the most precious was when she gave birth to Jessica.

Jessica first heard her mother’s story when she began to show interest in blood donation her sophomore year of high school.

“One of her grandmas had transfusions and her great-grandma, so it was talked about,” Rita said. “It was kind of like she thought, ‘Wow that’s really cool that I’m involved’.”

Jessica worked that first year to turn around the school’s blood drive.

"It was kind of a failure before and I made it my goal to have a high number of donations,” Jessica said.

Chris Beguhn, student council sponsor, said Jessica’s work parlayed into a successful drive.

“Jessica did a great job of assessing what worked and what didn’t,” Beguhn said. “She implemented improvements. She definitely helped build a format for the sign-up process of our blood drive. We continue to use her ideas because they are successful.”

Volunteering to Spread the Word About Need for Blood Donations

After hearing her mom’s story Jessica believed in the need for blood donors and began volunteering at LifeServe Blood Center.

Christine Hayes, vice president of communications for LifeServe, said Jessica's involvement with the high school blood drive was just a jumping-off point.

"She sought us out to be a regular volunteer," Hayes said. "She committed to volunteering several hours a week or month depending on her schedule."

From there, Jessica's connection with the cause continued to grow.

When she decided to become involved with the Miss America organization a year ago, Jessica knew her work with blood donations would be a good fit.

"It (joining Miss America) was a way to share my voice and talent of singing, that's what I study at the University of Iowa," Jessica said. "When I found out about the community service portion, I wanted it to be blood donation."

National Need for Blood Donations

Nationally, less than 6 percent of the population donates blood, so any effort to boost awareness of the need for donors is appreciated, Hayes said.

In June, Jessica was crowned Miss Iowa, so she took this year off from school to focus on her duties.

"Jessica is a phenomenal spokesperson, it was nice to see someone competing in a pageant choose a platform she was already involved with," Hayes said. "We really could not have asked for a better spokesperson."

Jessica, who also advocates for the DeGowin Blood Center in Iowa City and the Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center in Davenport, has spoken on behalf of the centers, handed out fliers, attended parades and talked with prospective donors to continue raising awareness.

A recent blood drive in the East Village in Des Moines drew the best turnout the center has ever had, Hayes said.

"We've certainly gotten a lot of interest from young girls that want to see her and have a picture," Hayes said. "I think that is one of the messages that she's been able to pass along, it's important to donate, but not everyone can."

While Jessica only has six months left in her Miss Iowa stint, once that's over she will continue to support blood donations.

"I'll be a lifelong volunteer,” she said.

Putting Herself in the Shoes of Potential Donors 

While Jessica often talks of the benefits of donating blood, she has only been able to donate a handful of times.

"I've given blood about eight times. The reason is that I have personal issues," she said. "I faint and one time my vein collapsed. So I get sent away a lot when I try."

Jessica's own experience helps her relate to other donors.

"I hear a lot of people that they are afraid to give blood," she said. "I can sympathize with that. I consider myself more a volunteer than a donor.

"I think the main thing for people to know is that you can be involved in any way," she said. "Only 38 percent of people are eligible to donate. That really means so many people can get involved not only from donations but from driving materials from the lab to the hospital. Anyone can get involved with it."

Part of Pray's role includes dispelling myths about blood donations.

Here are a few facts from Hayes:

• LifeServe provides blood and blood products to 90 hospitals in Iowa, South Dakota and Nebraska.
• The number one recipient of blood products is cancer patients.
• Blood has a short shelf-life, living only 42 days once donated.
• Healthy adults who are 16 years old and weigh at least 120 pounds may donate one pint of whole blood — the most common form of donation — every 56 days.
• More than 3,000 units of blood are needed each week to maintain an adequate blood supply in the Des Moines area and to meet rising transfusion demands across the country.

To donate, sponsor a drive, or volunteer visit the LifeServe website.