Courtesy photo

Troy donor Mark Monjot makes his 150th-lifetime donation to the CBC.

DAYTON, Ohio – Troy donor Mark Monjot is all about family.

Family was the reason to move from northern Ohio in 2016 when he began donating with Community Blood Center. His son got him started on double red blood cell donations, and all the nurses in his family keep him dedicated to donating so he can help patients fight cancer.

That’s why Monjot’s 150th-lifetime donation on April 29 at CBC was not his celebration alone, it was a celebration of family.

Monjot is a type O positive donor, which makes him an ideal double red cell donor. It helps double the supply of blood for emergencies, surgeries, and cancer treatment.

“Time,” said Monjot, is one reason to donate double reds. “My son gives double reds. He said, ‘Dad, why don’t you do it? You don’t need to go every eight weeks. You go every 16.”

Monjot’s son is a hospital oncology nurse, his daughter is a nurse for an oncology practice, and his wife is a retired nurse.

“Everyone in my family is in nursing and on the cancer side of it,” he said.

“Family brought us here,” he said about the move to Troy, where his work is in industrial sales.

“We used to live up in Avon Lake near Cleveland.

“Every 16 weeks I was set up to go in and give double reds.”

It’s a routine that kept him on a steady pace toward his 150th donation milestone. He made three double red donations and a single whole blood donation in 2019, and then four double red donations in 2020. He reached his 150th with a double red donation.

“It’s a ‘feel good’ thing, and I feel bad if I miss,” Monjot said. “I’m not a needle guy! It’s my calling. I get upset if I don’t do it.”