DAYTON — Clayton donor Terry Combs is a “Donor for Life” with a heart full of compassion. She taught special education in the Northmont City School District for 27 years.

She is a breast cancer survivor who started donating platelets during the pandemic to help others beat cancer. She celebrated saving lives on Aug. 8 at the Solvita Dayton Center with her milestone 200th lifetime donation.

“I loved it!” is how Terry summed up her teaching career. Her husband of 44 years has been battling cancer. They have three children, and she proudly notes, “My daughter is a platelet donor, and my son-in-law.”

Terry began donating as a teenager with the Community Blood Center (now Solvita). She is a Northmont High graduate where she learned about the school’s history of hosting the area’s first high school blood drives.

After recovering from COVID-19 she began donating COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma in 2021, then became a platelet donor. She retired from teaching and has been averaging two platelet donations every month.

“I have a little more time,” said Terry. “I am a cancer survivor and that makes it more important that I continue to do it, while I am healthy.”

With 70 platelet and plasma donations in the last three years, she quickly reached her 200th donation milestone.

“I was looking forward to it,” she said. “It’s pretty wonderful.”

Schedule a blood donation with Solvita (formerly Community Blood Center) on the Donor Time app, by calling (937) 461-3220, or at www.donortime.com. Walk-ins are welcome at the Solvita Dayton Center, 349 S. Main St.