Dollars and Sense

Tolbert Rowe brings his thoughts on financing and his common sense every month.

Mr. Rowe is Vice President/Lending for Bay Capital Mortgage Corp. with offices in Easton and Annapolis. He has lived in Caroline for his entire life and supports the county by volunteering in a variety of ways. He currently lives near Greensboro with his wife Jeanne

and daughter Kelsey.

So far 2026 has been a year of many challenges. Not the least of which has been the daily fits and starts of good news/bad news of the military action in Iran, and its impact on the price of oil. Spending $100 to fill our tanks is forcing some families to use credit cards as overall credit card balances have increased over the last 3 months. Families are also reducing spending in other areas, to offset the effects of inflation.

I hope that by the time you read this there is real peace in the Middle East and gas prices have returned to $3 per gallon. POTUS Trump has promised that gasoline prices will drop dramatically. The big question is “how much higher will gas prices go and for how long?”

Adding to all this economic and political angst we are dealing with nationally I have lost several friends, classmates, and close acquaintances in the last 6 months or so. The death of friends my age and younger has made me reflect on my own mortality. Being in my late 60’s it is quite clear that I have far fewer years ahead of me than I have behind me. Based on the average of how long I should live, 80% of my life is behind

According to Harvard.edu a 65-year-old male can expect to live to age 81.6 and a 65-year-old female is expected to live to 83 years old. So, for me, at age 67 I can expect to live another 15 years, on average. If this happens, I should be able to enjoy being part of my 3 grandchildren’s lives well into their 20’s.

Cancer is the infirmity that took the lives of those close to me. In different forms and different stages, it stole at least one fifth of their average years remaining. Leaving loved ones to mourn and struggle to adjust to their loss.

Several fought and endured the impact of chemo and radiation, praying for an outcome that would put their body back on track so they could enjoy their remaining “average” years. 4 were gone within 2 months of their diagnosis, others several weeks and one of them was gone 8 days from their diagnosis.

Suffering the loss of a loved one to cancer is not new. We all know someone who has been taken from us by cancer. And most of us know someone currently fighting this battel. The last 6 months have been especially impactful to me because of losing so many who were a part of my life at various times and in various ways.

I have been a platelet donor for close to 30 years. I was motivated to donate when I received a flyer in the mail from the Blood Bank of Delmarva shortly after my aunt passed away from Leukemia. Chemo and radiation deplete cancer patient’s platelet count to the extent that they need to be replaced. Some patients need a lot of them,

Prior to the development of platelet pheresis machines, platelets would be removed from whole blood donations through a centrifuge process. It takes anywhere from 6 to 10 whole blood donations to equal the number of platelets harvested through platelet pheresis.

The process of platelet pheresis involves blood being withdrawn, sent through an apheresis machine or centrifuge to remove the platelets and then return the blood to the body. A process that takes 2 to 2.5 hours, start to finish.

This process can harvest 3 times the amount of platelets netted from a whole blood donation and is extremely efficient. Especially since platelets must be used within 8 days.

Platelet donors must meet certain requirements. It requires a certain hemoglobin and platelet count. I am blessed that I have good hemoglobin and platelet count and am eligible to donate every 8 days.

My efforts in donating platelets have moved beyond my aunt’s death 30 years ago. Leaving their friends and families too soon, Al, Phil, Annie, Rick, Brian, Howard, (2) Mikes and others plus those currently enduring chemo and radiation treatments are my motivation now. Unfortunately, I know others will follow. As long as my health allows and cancer takes lives, I will do what I can to help those fighting this disease. Someday I may need them. While I am here prayers and platelets are what I can give.

I have a standard response to the Blood Bank Survey after every donation when asked what my motivation is for doing so is. My response is very simple. “I have platelets, Cancer patients need platelets, so I donate platelets.”

I encourage anyone who can join me. Check out the Blood Bank of Delmarva website at Delmarvablood.org. or reach out to me and I will gladly share my experience as a platelet donor.