DAYTON, Ohio – When Fairborn blood donor Katherine Livingston heads home at dawn from her overnight shift in the blood lab at Soin Medical Center, she’ll have the warm snuggle of a new Sleep Number 360® smart bed waiting for her.
Katherine is the winner of the Community Blood Center “Wake Up & Donate Blood Drive” drawing and blood drive sponsor Sleep Number® provided a luxury smart bed as the grand prize. Everyone who registered to donate with CBC from May 4 through Oct. 31 was automatically entered in the drawing.
Encouraged by her brother Ben Albert, Katherine donated at the Dayton CBC Donation Center on Oct. 29, just in time to be included in the drawing.
“I’m a little speechless! I never win anything,” said Katherine, who got the news while still groggy from her after-work nap. “My brother Ben actually scheduled it and I went with him. I work in the blood bank in the lab at Soin and I’ve been meaning to donate for a long time. It was his idea!”
Ben accompanied Katherine to the Beavercreek Sleep Number where Store Manager Sean Cuddihee and CBC Donor Relations Directory Tracy Morgan presented the award.
“Katherine was one of 39,699 donor registrations during the ‘Wake Up & Donate Blood Drive,’” said Tracy. “We’re so thankful to her and all those donors who supported the campaign. They’ve helped us through a time of crisis in the COVID-19 pandemic, and they continue to help us.”
“We’re happy to help encourage blood donations by supporting the ‘Wake Up & Donate Blood Drive,’” said Sean. “A healthy night’s sleep is important to everyone and this was an opportunity to give back to the community.”
Katherine is the lead laboratory night shift technician at Soin Medical Center and just completed her master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from the University of Cincinnati. She has been a CBC donor since 2016 and did a clinical rotation in the CBC Reference Lab while a student at Wright State University.
Katherine and her husband John have three boys, ages 8, 11 and 12. She said the new bed will fit perfectly in their Fairborn home, but she also feels Ben deserves the award for suggesting they donate. “We talked about it going to him,” said Katherine. “I’m thinking about it!”
Katherine’s family has a passion for board games and tabletop gaming. “We go to Indianapolis every year for the Gen Con convention, and they usually have a Bloodmobile there,” she said. “Because of COVID we didn’t go this year.”
They have valued their time at home during the pandemic. “We love board games, the whole family does for sure,” she said. “We can’t do Monopoly because it causes too many fights!”
“As much as they love competing, winning a Sleep Number bed came as a surprise. “They’re going to laugh,” she said. “We never win anything!”
Solvita Blood Center 