SPECIAL BOND WITH BLOOD. SO I GOT MY LITTLE WALKER OVER HERE SOME PEOPLE COULD CONSIDER DUANE WILSON’S JOB A BIT VILE. THIS IS IT. BUT EVERY DAY, WILSON FINDS HIMSELF SURROUNDED. WHATEVER THEY SAY ABOUT ME IN HERE, IT’S PROBABLY TRUE. THEY’RE GONNA GO GRAB SOME BLOOD HERE, BUY A GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING. SIX DIFFERENT DONORS RIGHT HERE. WILSON WORKS AT THE VITALANT LABORATORY IN MATHER, PACKAGING BLOOD AND PLATELETS. THIS IS IT. EVERY DAY ONLY. USUALLY THEY’RE YELLING AT ME. IT’S A JOB. HE PUTS ALL OF HIS HEART INTO JUST WALKING IN THE DOOR. YOU ALWAYS FEEL THAT CONNECTION. YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS THE DONORS AND WHAT THEY’RE WHAT THEY’VE DONE AND WHAT THEY’RE DOING FOR ME AND EVERYBODY ELSE OUT THERE. AS A TEENAGER, WILSON WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A CHRONIC HEART DISEASE. AND TOLD AT SOME POINT IN LIFE HE’D NEED A TRANSPLANT. OVER TIME. IT’S NOT SOMETHING THAT GETS BETTER, OF COURSE, BUT IT JUST IT JUST GETS WORSE. SO YOU HAVE MORE EPISODES? TWO YEARS AGO, WILSON’S HEART WAS GIVING OUT, FORCING HIM TO LEAVE HIS CAREER AS AN NBA EQUIPMENT MANAGER BEHIND. THAT’S WHEN HIS DOCTOR SAID IT WAS TIME TO TELL THE TRUTH. I WAS ECSTATIC. I WAS LIKE, LET’S DO IT. AND SHE WAS KIND OF LIKE, SERIOUSLY? AND I WAS LIKE, YEAH, I’M READY. WHATEVER WE NEED TO DO. ON APRIL 18TH, 2021, WILSON WAS GIVEN A NEW LEASE ON LIFE FROM DAY ONE. NEVER FELT BETTER. YOU KNOW, JUST JUST THE DIFFERENCE IN THAT HEARTBEAT WAS, UH. UM, I MEAN, I’VE NEVER FELT A HEART LIKE THAT. THE DONATION ISN’T LOST ON HIM. IT’S, UH. IT’S A FEELING NOW COURSING THROUGH HIS VEINS. IT’S WHAT PEOPLE DO, YOU KNOW, FOR OTHERS, IT’S AMAZING. AND I THINK FOR ME, WHEN I THINK ABOUT THAT, IT’S LIKE, UH, I THINK MY, MY BIGGEST JOY IS JUST, YOU KNOW, JUST, YOU KNOW, BEING ABLE TO TELL THE STORY AND THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, LETTING PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU’RE DONATING, IT’S, UH, YEAH, I’M, I’M, I’M THIS IS WHAT YOU DO IT FOR. THAT INCLUDED THE STRANGERS WHO DONATED THE SEVEN BAGS OF BLOOD USED DURING HIS SURGERY. I’M THE FRUITS OF YOUR LABOR. HIS LABOR IS NOW A LABOR OF LOVE. YOU’RE WALKING THROUGH HERE. THE FIRST TIME, IT WAS EMOTIONAL COMING TO WORK EVERY DAY. SO IT’S A. EXCUSE ME. KNOWING THE BLOOD HE IS NOW RESPONSIBLE FOR PACKING IS ON THE WAY TO HOPEFULLY SAVE SOMEONE ELSE’S LIFE. THIS ONE’S, UM, READY TO GO FOR PHOTOJOURNALIST JACK NOONAN. THAT’S ALL SHE WROTE. JASON MARKS KCRA 3 NEWS BEFORE THE HEART SURGERY, DOCTORS ALSO SAID WILSON NEEDED A LIVER AND KIDNEY TRANSPLANT. THOSE ISSUES WERE CLEARED UP AS SOON AS THE NEW HEART WENT IN. WELL, IF YOU’D LIKE TO DONATE BLOOD, BLOOD? OUR BLOOD DRIVE RUNS FROM WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NEXT WEEK. YOU’RE ENCOURAGED TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT ONLINE, AND YOU CAN DO THAT BY SCANNING THE QR CODE. RIGHT NOW ON YOUR SCREEN. THERE ARE TWO LOCATIONS, ONE AT SIERRA COLLEGE AND ROCKLIN, AND THE OTHER ONE IN DOWNTOWN SACRAMENTO AT THE YMCA. WE HAVE A LIST OF HOURS AND