Donate platelets to help English professor Huston

Donate platelets to help English professor Huston

BY HEATHER MCLEAN WIEDERHOEFT
Special to the Rice News

This holiday season, the spirit of giving will be especially meaningful to Rice Professor of English Dennis Huston, who is undergoing treatment for leukemia. During the next several months, he will undergo a cycle of treatment in which he will need whole blood and platelets.

Rice faculty, staff and students who would like to support Huston can donate blood or platelets in his name. Huston’s blood type is A+, which is required for directed platelet or red blood cell donations. Donors do not have to have the same type of blood for Huston to receive a ”credit” donation.

HUSTON

To make a donation for Huston’s direct use, contact his daughter-in-law, Deborah Huston, at 713-625-7019 or <dhuston@pscnow.com>. She will coordinate the timing of direct platelet and blood donations as Huston’s doctors indicate the need for more blood.

Huston’s physicians also are working through the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center at 1400 La Concha near Reliant Stadium off Kirby. Interested donors can make an appointment online at <www.giveblood.org> or by phone at 713-790-1200. To maximize Huston’s credit for a donation, donors must give his full name, John Dennis Huston; his birthdate, Sept. 21, 1939; and the last four numbers of his Social Security number, 0796.

Call 713-790-1200 for dietary restrictions and other specifics on how to prepare to give blood.

Lisa Bryan, Huston’s wife and college coordinator for Rice’s Jones College, reported that the chemotherapy appears to be working, as his recent white blood cell count was zero. ”Both Dennis and I are tremendously grateful to the entire Rice community for the unbelievable outpouring of platelets, blood donations, heartfelt good wishes and love,” Bryan said.