Sgt. Joy Colmar

Donor

Joy Colmar is a wife, mother to Austin, Marissa, Mahayla and Andrew (ages 18 months to 11 years) and a field sergeant with the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department. It’s a job she came to because it has given her the opportunity to serve her community. She sees donating blood in the same light.

“My life is about serving people,“ she says, “and giving blood is another way to do that.“

For Joy, donating began with a blood drive at her high school. She saw it as a way to help people no matter how much--or little--money she had. Years later, she still gives whenever she can.

Besides her desire to serve, Joy also sees a reason for giving that's close to home. She and her husband Kevin, who is also a police officer, are in a risky line of work. “You never know when you might need blood yourself,“ she says.

To potential blood donors who are still on the fence, Joy has a simple argument: “Giving blood is a way anyone can give back, if they're able, and it doesn't cost anything except a little time.“

Please share your experience as a blood donor or transfusion recipient.