Loma Linda University Health nurse honored for donating 113 gallons of blood, inducted into national Donation Hall of Fame

Dexter Emoto, RN, a post-anesthesia care unit and recovery room nurse at Loma Linda University Health, has been inducted into the national Fresenius Kabi Donation Hall of Fame for his blood donations.

Emoto started donating his blood 45 years ago while he was attending Pacific Union College (PUC) in California’s Napa Valley. “I’ve always had a passion for helping people, and at the time, I simply hoped someone could benefit from my donation,” he said.

Emoto has donated more than 113 gallons, making him one of the highest blood donors in the western United States. That blood has helped nearly 1,500 individuals, estimates Lifestream.

Representatives from Fresenius Kabi, an organization that specializes in lifesaving medicines and technologies, inducted Emoto into its national Donation Hall of Fame Wednesday for his contributions.

Emoto began routinely donating blood at Lifestream in San Bernardino, California, in 1982 after transferring from PUC to Loma Linda University School of Nursing. “I realized I could benefit the patients in my local hospital by donating,” Emoto said. “Almost all of my donations have come to the Loma Linda University Medical Center, where it goes to the patients I care for daily.”

Since graduating from nursing school in 1977, Emoto has worked as a nurse — as well as a mentor for student nurses — with Loma Linda University Health. “I want future nurses to know that the blood they hang is coming from a volunteer,” Emoto says.

“People who give blood do so because they have a passion for helping people. Those donations could save someone’s friend or family member.”