One gallon. It’s a significant blood donation milestone for Marilyn Jimenez considering she wasn’t encouraged to donate growing up. Marilyn was born in Mexico and grew up between there and the U.S. She says that for Mexicans, there isn’t a strong culture of proactively donating blood unless a family member, neighbor or acquaintance had a specific need. That mindset personally changed for Marilyn once she began working at the American Red Cross. Her awareness of the need for blood nationwide grew, and she quickly learned the profound impact that blood donations can have on a patient in need. “I realized that blood is needed long before a person goes into surgery or has an accident,” Marilyn said. “Also, the need for blood is greater than the number of people who donate.” She is one of the nearly 60% of Latinos who have O positive blood, the most transfused blood type and often in low supply. “Whenever I talk about this topic, people are always like, ‘Wow!’” Marilyn said. “I bel...