Excerpt from WHIO-TV7
Bob Grote, a member of the Wright State University Athletics Hall of Fame and former WSU radio commentator, wants to give back to thank those whose blood donations gave him a second chance at life.
That want, with the help of Ken Herr, a blood donor and WSU basketball’s official scorer, has led to a community blood drive at the Nutter Center planned for Feb. 10, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Grote, Division-II All-American in 1976 and former broadcast commentator for WSU basketball and baseball, needed 31 units of blood to survive a life-threatening emergency in April. He had been in remission for hepatitis and cirrhosis of the liver when he began vomiting blood, a situation that worsened at a hospital.
“Blood was coming out of my nose and ears, and the bed was full of blood,” Grote said in a prepared statement Solvita Blood Center released Thursday afternoon. “I went into shock and a coma. . . . I woke up six days later at University of Cincinnati Hospital.”
Grote had two surgeries and multiple transfusions over the first three days. “They basically told my family I was going to pass away on three different occasions,” he said.
“The reason I want to do this [blood drive] is because I was given a second chance,” he said.
- Schedule an appointment to donate on the Donor Time app by calling (937) 461-3220, or at www.donortime.com.
- Read more on the WHIO-TV7 website
