Each summer, blood donations drop precipitously across the nation. Locally, drive attendance is down 40 percent, owing to factors such as donor travel and school vacations that shut common collection sites. Grateful for her continued access to the transfusions she needs, a Limerick blood donation recipient recently presented Red Cross staff members with a tangible thank you for their efforts. Stephanie Stahl reported the present for CBS3.

Stacey Morris has aplastic anemia, a serious bone marrow condition that requires regular transfusions. As the mom of three teenagers, her ongoing well-being is important.

She readily recognizes that the altruism of utter strangers is keeping her alive.

In return, she recently provided Red Cross staff members with masks that she made.

In presenting one, she told the recipient that the red-and-white material she chose for it “…reminded me of the Red Cross.”

Absent a way to connect with her specific donor, Morris did the next best thing, praising him or her publicly, saying. “It’s so wonderful to know there’s people out there willing to donate to help save my life and so many other people’s lives.”

National statistics show that only three percent of Americans are blood donors. For any of the remaining 97 percent who want to step up locally, information on how is online.

The complete story of Stacey Morris is at CBS3.