SEATTLE — Blood donations can save lives, and Drea Mizer is a perfect example of that. She received multiple blood transfusions after being diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer in 2009.
“Ovarian cancer is one of the deadliest gynecological cancers,” said Mizer, co-owner of Buddah Bruddah restaurant. “You’ve got to fight it hard. In order to do that, I did require blood transfusions to help my body repair and recoup and be prepared for the next treatment.”
Mizer had surgery and eight chemotherapy treatments and needed blood transfusions five times. Seven years after that, she was diagnosed with breast cancer but is now recovered from both. She and her husband Mark opened the Buddah Bruddah food truck in 2014.
“We’ve since grown to four restaurants and two catering lines serving Seattle and the Eastside,” Mizer said.
Buddah Bruddah is one of the Intentionalist restaurants participating in the “Savor Life. Save a Life.” campaign with Bloodworks Northwest.
“At Intentionalist, we often talk about small businesses as being the life blood of our communities,” said Laura Clise, founder and CEO of Intentionalist. “We’re so excited to be able to collaborate with Bloodworks Northwest on the ‘Savor Life. Save a life.’ campaign.”
When you donate blood now through July 31, you'll receive a $5 voucher to local restaurants owned by women, people of color, veterans, Indigenous people, members of the LGBTQ community and disabled people.
“As people are getting to know the people and stories behind the local businesses at the heart of our communities, they hear about Drea’s journey and have the opportunity to be inspired by her resilience and connect that to the experience that they have enjoying her delicious food,” Clise said.
There’s a critical need for more blood donors in the community to continue to help people like Mizer.
“It does take a village,” Mizer said. “It does take a whole community knowing that at any moment one of us or our loved ones could need to be the recipient of a blood donation, and knowing that that blood bank is full is very reassuring.”
Learn more about the campaign and how to donate blood on the Bloodworks NW website.
This story is sponsored by Bloodworks Northwest.