Platelet donors needed to help seriously ill patients

After a colleague's nephew fell ill with leukemia three years ago, Gail Brown started donating platelets.

She'd drive to Children's Hospital in Washington, where she'd hook up to a machine that would take some of her blood, separate the platelets, and return her blood nearly as good as new. The platelets were then given to the youngster.

"Unfortunately, he passed away. So I figured the least I could do was continue to give," Ms. Brown said during a visit to the American Red Cross blood donor center in Glen Burnie.

The Red Cross is looking for more donors like Ms. Brown to help patients with cancer and other serious...