A Donor's Story: Char

Feb 1, 2022 | Kayla Mulhern | @kaylam1

Sometimes the most successful program advertising comes through the program participants themselves. Char Hepper, a resident at Charter House, is a great example of that.
As part of her daily morning routine, Char walks the subways at Mayo Clinic, where she runs across many staff and patients. And every day, she proudly sports a Blood Donor Program
T-shirt. Her favorite is the “I did it for the cookies!” tee.

During one particular walk through the subway, a patient and her daughter stopped Char and asked, “Do you give blood?” When she replied with “yes” and a smile, the patient “gave me one of the biggest hugs you can imagine,” Char says.

“Donating blood is sort of an unknown to most people. They are wondering ‘Oh, my! What are they going to do to me?’” Char smiles. “Well, this is what I wear every morning on my walk to the Baldwin. It sends a little message.”

Spreading that message is just one of the ways Char and her husband, a retired Mayo physician, try to make a difference. The two of them volunteer at a local school. “He teaches math and I have the joy of listening to the first graders read and share their personal stories. Some of them are kind of sad, but everyone has a story,” Char reflects.

When asked why Char initially became a blood donor, she replied, “I saw that there was a need to donate, and I decided I could help patients in this way. My story isn’t very dramatic, but it’s my story.”

How to Donate
For more information about donating blood in Rochester, Minnesota, call (507) 284-4475 or email donateblood@mayo.edu. Or visit our webpage http://www.mayoclinic.org/donateblood.

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