Kristi Cullen

Kristi Cullen tried to donate blood in high school but fainted and gave up on being a donor. Her husband, also a faithful Hoxworth blood donor, talked her into trying again, and she’s been donating ever since 2004. 

Since then, she has committed to carrying on the lifesaving mission of donating whole blood at the Hoxworth Tri-County location. In fact, Cullen, who is the universal donor with her O Negative blood type, recently hit a milestone 10-gallon donation.

“The more I give, the easier it has become,” said Cullen, a Colerain Township resident who feels good about donating to help those people in our community who are sick or hurt. “At first, I didn’t like the needle, but with time, regular donation has helped me get over the fear of needles.” 

Now, she has a method to prepare for her donation.

“I start a few days ahead of time, eating burritos, spinach, hamburgers, breakfast cereals that has iron in them, and I also take an iron supplement,” she said. 

She’s glad she didn’t give up trying because she enjoys helping people in need, and she considers it an easy way to give back to the community. “I hope my blood goes to those in need like young children who are sick or someone that is going through cancer or leukemia or someone who has been in a major accident.” 

She enjoys the variety in Hoxworth promotions, noting some of her favorites such as the Halloween socks, the Out for Blood beach blanket, T-shirts and gift cards.

She likes the fact that Hoxworth is a local organization in Cincinnati. When she’s not saving lives through blood donation, she enjoys gardening, taking walks, exercising and playing with her black cat Shadow. But meanwhile, she faithfully schedules her donation appointment every eight weeks to assist in the mission of Saving Lives Close to Home.