A Scarlet Knight’s Lifesaving Commitment: 158 Donations and Counting
Sep 15 | General
As the U.S. faces a blood supply crisis, one Scarlet Knight has made it her mission to help provide critical blood donations. Sue Beurskens, associate athletic director for marketing, has been a blood donor since 1993 and has logged over 150 donations over those three decades.
What began as a chance encounter has evolved into a decades-long commitment to helping others through this lifesaving act. While working at one of her first jobs at Herman's World of Sporting Goods, the company was conducting a blood drive and needed one more pint to reach their goal. Beurskens was approached to put the company over their 40-pint goal and initially she didn't think she would be a suitable candidate, but it turned out she was the ideal person.
From that point on, a super donor was born. Beurskens has donated everything from whole blood to platelets and plasma. Her A+ blood type makes her the perfect candidate for platelet donations, which she has committed to providing on a regular basis.
"You never know when you might need it," said Beurskens. "I'd like to know that it would be there if I ever needed a blood transfusion. Any of my family members who have needed it, they've been able to get it. It's just one of those things, doing something good for another human being."
Rutgers Athletics is teaming up with Abbott and the Big Ten Conference for the "We Give Blood" drive, a nationwide competition to help address the blood supply shortage. The 18 Big Ten schools are vying for the most recorded donations with the winning institution earning a $1 million grant from Abbott to advance student or community health.
Blood donations at any blood center in the U.S. between August 12 through December 4 can count toward the competition. Donors in the New Brunswick area are encouraged to attend any of the upcoming drives:
Beurskens was inspired at a young age while watching her grandmother battle an illness that required blood donations, which a family friend came forward to provide. At seven years old, Beurskens remembers watching that series of events and being fascinated by the process. Years later, her mother became sick and needed transfusions as part of her treatment. Those two experiences reinforced the significance of giving back in this way.
"It's very important to me," said Beurskens.
Over her decades of donating blood, Beurskens knows her efforts have gone a long way toward saving the lives of others. On one occasion, she had the rare opportunity to witness that impact firsthand. In a full-circle moment, Beurskens was able to help the son of a family friend with a platelet donation while he was seriously ill and in need.
"One whole blood donation can save up to three lives," said Beurskens. "Platelets are more used for cancer patients, so because of my mom's history it was a big thing for me."
Beurskens remembers hitting the 100 donation mark just prior to the pandemic and in the six years since she has almost doubled those contributions. While much of the world was shut down, the critical need to support the blood supply continued and Beurskens saw it as an ideal opportunity to increase her volunteerism. Her personal and professional schedules didn't provide many avenues to give back but during the pandemic, being able to donate blood became her calling.
"I don't have a lot of time to volunteer as much as I would like with other things," said Beurskens. "So, I consider this my way of volunteering and giving back in some shape or form."
She has continued that commitment, making her most recent donation on Sunday, September 13 – her 158th donation and counting.
Text GIVEBLOOD to 222688 to register your donation through the Abbott/Big Ten We Give Blood campaign and select Rutgers as your school of choice to help the Scarlet Knights win.
What began as a chance encounter has evolved into a decades-long commitment to helping others through this lifesaving act. While working at one of her first jobs at Herman's World of Sporting Goods, the company was conducting a blood drive and needed one more pint to reach their goal. Beurskens was approached to put the company over their 40-pint goal and initially she didn't think she would be a suitable candidate, but it turned out she was the ideal person.
From that point on, a super donor was born. Beurskens has donated everything from whole blood to platelets and plasma. Her A+ blood type makes her the perfect candidate for platelet donations, which she has committed to providing on a regular basis.
"You never know when you might need it," said Beurskens. "I'd like to know that it would be there if I ever needed a blood transfusion. Any of my family members who have needed it, they've been able to get it. It's just one of those things, doing something good for another human being."
Rutgers Athletics is teaming up with Abbott and the Big Ten Conference for the "We Give Blood" drive, a nationwide competition to help address the blood supply shortage. The 18 Big Ten schools are vying for the most recorded donations with the winning institution earning a $1 million grant from Abbott to advance student or community health.
Blood donations at any blood center in the U.S. between August 12 through December 4 can count toward the competition. Donors in the New Brunswick area are encouraged to attend any of the upcoming drives:
- 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sept. 16, Commons at the Yard, 40 College Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ
- 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sept. 17, Commons at the Yard, 40 College Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ
- 12 p.m. – 6 p.m., Oct. 6, Rutgers College Avenue Gym, 130 College Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ
Beurskens was inspired at a young age while watching her grandmother battle an illness that required blood donations, which a family friend came forward to provide. At seven years old, Beurskens remembers watching that series of events and being fascinated by the process. Years later, her mother became sick and needed transfusions as part of her treatment. Those two experiences reinforced the significance of giving back in this way.
"It's very important to me," said Beurskens.
Over her decades of donating blood, Beurskens knows her efforts have gone a long way toward saving the lives of others. On one occasion, she had the rare opportunity to witness that impact firsthand. In a full-circle moment, Beurskens was able to help the son of a family friend with a platelet donation while he was seriously ill and in need.
"One whole blood donation can save up to three lives," said Beurskens. "Platelets are more used for cancer patients, so because of my mom's history it was a big thing for me."
Beurskens remembers hitting the 100 donation mark just prior to the pandemic and in the six years since she has almost doubled those contributions. While much of the world was shut down, the critical need to support the blood supply continued and Beurskens saw it as an ideal opportunity to increase her volunteerism. Her personal and professional schedules didn't provide many avenues to give back but during the pandemic, being able to donate blood became her calling.
"I don't have a lot of time to volunteer as much as I would like with other things," said Beurskens. "So, I consider this my way of volunteering and giving back in some shape or form."
She has continued that commitment, making her most recent donation on Sunday, September 13 – her 158th donation and counting.
Text GIVEBLOOD to 222688 to register your donation through the Abbott/Big Ten We Give Blood campaign and select Rutgers as your school of choice to help the Scarlet Knights win.
Tuesday, September 08
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Monday, August 31
Monday, August 31
