Stephen McMeeken of Alpine recently donated his 170th gallon of blood to the San Diego Blood Bank. The longtime blood donor started giving blood in 1976 when he and his wife were expecting their first child and were encouraged to join the Stork Club, which promoted umbilical cord blood banking and donation. McMeeken now donates platelets — blood cells that help control bleeding — 24 times each year in memory of his nephew Tom, who died of a blood disorder six years ago. Patients undergoing bone marrow transplants, surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation treatments or organ transplants often need platelets to survive.
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