Decades of blood donations and efforts to recruit other donors have earned Hutchinson residents Jim and Linda Parker a place in the National Blood Donation Hall of Fame. Jim, 88, and Linda, 77, are among 14 people recognized this year. Kansas American Red Cross staff nominated the couple for their commitment to giving blood and teaching others why donations matter.
Fresenius Kabi, the healthcare company that sponsors the Hall of Fame and manufactures technology used in blood collection, notified the Parkers in October. The couple marked their induction with a platelet donation appointment at the Red Cross center in downtown Wichita. Jim’s cumulative donations reached 102 gallons during the visit, while Linda’s reached 92 gallons. Linda described the recognition as humbling, saying she viewed donating as something people should do.
Jim’s involvement began in 1976, when he became principal of Conway Springs High School. Seniors asked whether he would give blood if at least half their class participated. The community’s bloodmobile came only once a year, and Jim agreed to the challenge as a way to encourage his students. Although he was nervous about his first donation, he continued giving in subsequent years, including after becoming superintendent and later moving to Wichita for another job.
At the downtown Wichita donation center, Jim found another source of motivation: a wall recognizing donors who had given at least 13 gallons. He increased his donations with the goal of having his name included. He and Linda met in the early 1990s while working at the same school. After marrying in 1991, they began scheduling donation appointments together at the Wichita center.
When Jim retired from education in 2004, both had earned places on the recognition wall. He proposed another goal: becoming the first couple to donate at all 34 American Red Cross donation centers. Their white minivan carried the words “donate across America,” and they contacted centers before arriving to explain their mission and encourage participation. With Linda still working, they traveled during weekends and school breaks.
Over four years, their travels took them to every Red Cross donation center and eventually to every state. Hawaii was their final state, with a donation during Linda’s Thanksgiving break at Tripler Air Force Base honoring her son, who serves in the military. After learning about their travels, Armed Services Blood Program staff invited them to visit its 19 donation sites in the continental United States, beginning at the Pentagon.
Red Cross representative Logan Wright said frequent donors such as the Parkers help meet a continuing demand. A transfusion takes place roughly every two seconds in the United States, serving patients with needs that include neonatal, prenatal, cancer and trauma care. Thousands of volunteers transport donations from the Wichita center to about 100 hospitals and cancer centers across Kansas. “Blood cannot be manufactured; it cannot be stored for very long,” Wright said.
Shannon Wedge, executive director of the South Central and Southeastern Kansas Red Cross, said the Parkers continued returning to Wichita to donate every two weeks despite their travels. Jim credited the center’s staff with keeping them coming back and emphasized that collecting blood depends on many people beyond the donors themselves. He said those workers share in the couple’s recognition.
