The American Red Cross is mailing thank you cards to blood donors and the courtesy note is bringing them and others back.

"I had a friend that I worked with who was donating and talked me into trying it, so I've been doing it ever since,” says Scott Henry of Council Bluffs. Every two weeks he takes time out of his day to visit the American Red Cross at 38th and Dewey.

"Platelets and plasma, I've had 25 donations." Henry says it's no big deal and it's one small thing he can do to help someone in need. "It's a good thing to do. It could save a life. I mean it only takes an hour, hour-and-a-half. Just come in, watch TV, relax a little bit."

Roberta Silverthorn of Madison County, Iowa believes donors like Henry are giving a little bit more. Her husband Fred benefits from blood donations. He is currently undergoing a stem cell transplant at the Nebraska Medical Center, so he needs a lot of transfusions. Blood donations have helped keep him alive.

"When he was trying to collect for his stem cells, they had to give him platelets so that he could collect just to even have the transplant and depending on where his red cells and white cells, he may have to have platelets again," says wife Roberta. "He may have to have blood products again, so it's very important for him."

To show appreciation for what donors like Henry do, the American Red Cross is sending out thank you cards. "It hits home,” says Danelle Schlegelmilch of the Red Cross. “They show it to their boss or wife or kids, just to show we are helping people in Omaha and it encourages others to come in and give also."

Henry's already received two cards, all for giving a little of himself to someone else. "It's a great gift, it's a gift of life," says Roberta.

Last year, more than 7,200 blood donors received thank you notes.