The American Red Cross set up on April 9 at the Lake Oconee Lutheran Church community center alongside Hwy. 44 for its monthly collection from area blood donors.
For Red Cross phlebotomist Dylan Zamzow, the work has become both routine and deeply meaningful over his five years on the job.
Zamzow explained that many of the donors he sees have a story or underlying motivation for giving blood. Others, he said, are routine contributors, sometimes donating in the hundreds of pints, though no one can donate whole blood to the Red Cross more often than every 56 days.
“A lot of them do have some sort of story,” Zamzow said of the donors he sees. “Whether it's a family member who was diagnosed with some disease or maybe had some sort of accident, there's often some kind of personal thing involved.”
For Zamzow, that human connection remains just as important as the medical impact. Donors consistently range from first-timers to seasoned regulars, and each one brings a different level of comfort or challenges to the experience.
“Newer donors we have a little more problems with because their bodies aren’t quite used to the experience,” he said. “But we’re always there to make sure their body is able to get back to their normal.”
It’s that blend of compassion, coordination, and community that keeps the effort moving.
Hosting those stories — and the steady stream of donors behind them — is part of the mission Steven Hayden, pastor of Lake Oconee Lutheran Church, has embraced, where he initiated the monthly blood drives the church has hosted for about four years.
“We believe that God has loved us and cared for us and given us resources to serve the community,” Hayden said. “One of the ways we do that is through partnering with the Red Cross and providing an area and hosts for their monthly blood drive.”
Supported by volunteers from the congregation, the church has built a consistent donor base, typically collecting between 40 and 50 pints monthly, with some events reaching into the 60s. Over the course of a year, that can approach 500 pints — with each one potentially helping to treat or even save multiple lives.
“We’re supporting the entire Southeast,” Hayden said. “Not just us, but all who come and give blood are doing that.”
Zamzow agreed, saying the simple act of giving blood provides far-reaching benefits beyond Lake Country. He added that, as he travels across Georgia, covering the lower half of the state and into Florida, that geographic reach underscores the importance of each donation.
And while the process is designed to be easy and painless — typically getting donors “in and out as quickly as possible while still maintaining good performance” — he emphasized care and communication remain at the heart of every Red Cross blood donation interaction.
“Just being able to make this the best experience possible for the donors and impacting lives in the hospitals with the blood they receive is very satisfying,” he said.