Blood drive in honor of Demetry Walker a success

Jun. 27—Thursday, on what would have been Demetry Walker's 24th birthday, every person who donated at a blood drive in his honor gave him the best birthday gift he could have ever asked for, his mother, Del. Danielle Walker said.

"And that's a lifeline for someone being with their family members for a little bit more time, " she said. "I didn't lose a son, I gained my heavenly guardian angel who's going to shine through each and every one of us so we are Walker's Warriors."

In total, the American Red Cross received 48 units of blood, which can be used to help up to 144 people, Walker said.

Jason Keeling, executive director of the Alleghany Highlands chapter of the American Red Cross, said that is a higher than average blood drive. Each unit, or pint, of blood can be used in various ways to help patients, he said. It can be used to help cancer patients, burn victims, or maybe a trauma patient who was in a bad car crash.

"This is obviously a difficult time for the Walker family and friends, but they have been committed to honoring Demetry through service and yesterday's blood drive is a testament to the impact that he had on others and the community's desire to honor him, " Keeling said.

To help fight his leukemia, Demetry received blood products, such as hemoglobin two to three times a day at some points and was on plasma around-the-clock in the week-and-a-half before his death on June 19, Walker said.

"He knew it was a lifeline for him and he wanted to make sure he was giving back to other folks and making sure that his voice was heard, " Walker said. "So, this is what we do to celebrate the life and legacy of Nurse Walker."

Demetry was studying to be an LPN at the Monongalia County Technical Education Center and the day before he died learned he passed all his exams and had enough clinical hours to graduate. Walker said Demetry's brother, Devin, will walk across the stage to receive his diploma.

Some of the blood given to Demetry was from South Carolina and Washington, D.C., Walker said. And while the turnout at Thursday's blood drive in Charleston was good, Walker said they are nowhere near Demetry's goal of giving 10 units back for each one he used.

"And it is worth noting this is a charge that he himself was leading in his final weeks of life, which is a testament to his nature towards service, " Keeling said.

The next blood drive will be July 27 at the Hotel Morgan in Morgantown. Keeling said registering for high-profile drives such as this one is always a good idea but walk-in donations are accepted. People can register by calling 800-RED-CROSS or downloading the Red Cross blood donor app.

The July 27 event will also have personnel from Be The Match, a national bone marrow donor organization.

Walker said there will also be blood drives in South Carolina, D.C., and in Walker's home state of Louisiana when Demetry's memorial is held there.

"So, we have a lot of work ahead of us, " Walker said. "I sat with a lady yesterday who just lost her brother to treatment complications and he was also diagnosed with leukemia a month before. And even though she knew it would be triggering for her donating blood yesterday, when she shared that with me I pulled my chair up closer to her and held her hand and I listened as she expressed the love that she had for her brother and how she was racing to get to him in Ohio with her son. And it's families like hers and families like mine that will continue to fight to make sure that we have enough blood products here in the state of West Virginia."

Walker said she wants people to know how proud Demetry would be knowing others are getting blood that was donated in West Virginia.