LAFAYETTE, La. — Valentine’s Day 2025 has arrived, and while many shoppers are in a rush to buy candy and last-minute flowers, one neighbor is showing her love in a different way.
Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs a blood transfusion, according to Our Lady of Lourdes Blood Donor Center. This Valentine’s Day, KATC is highlighting someone giving love straight from the heart.
Meet Margaret Ristroph: At 78 years old, sitting in a donation chair is nothing new.
“I’ve been a donor for quite a while, and have given a lot of blood,” Ristroph said.
Ristroph has donated nearly 10 gallons of blood over a span of 37 years. She was inspired to become a donor after someone close to her needed a blood donation back in 1974.
“My father was very ill, and he lost a lot of blood. A lot of people we did not know from the community stepped up to the plate and donated. Papa got 13 units of blood and he lived for another 14 years,” she said.
When asked about her blood type, Ristroph said, “I am O positive, which is the most common kind. Because there are so many people with O positive, they need lots of O positive.”
Since then, Ristroph has been a regular donor and has no plans to stop giving.
“As long as it seems I’m healthy and they don’t tell me, ‘Mrs. Margaret, thank you for all the years but you need to hang it up,’ I will continue to try,” Ristroph said.
If you feel full of love and want to give back, you can sign up to be a blood donor by clicking here.
