A Pint for Kim: Blood drive honoring Naperville mom who died of cancer sets state record

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (WLS) -- A record breaking number of people rolled up their sleeves for a blood drive at Naperville High School on Saturday.

More than 600 pints of blood were collected for the fourth annual "A Pint for Kim" blood drive.

The blood drive is named in honor of Kimberley Benedyk Sandford. It began in 2020, when Kim, a wife and mother of two boys, was battling a cancer so rare that her case was one in 10 million.

At times, she needed dozens of blood and plasma transfusions, which inspired her family to start the #APintForKim.

Kim was involved in the creation of the effort, and her wish was to have it continue. Hundreds keep turning out each year.

ABC7 spoke with her husband, who was the first blood donor on Saturday morning.

"It is pretty amazing when you think about it. It's people helping people, and so it just struck a chord with us. Kim really felt like, 'Wow, I really want to give this back.' And, she told her doctor one time, kind of joking, she said, 'We'll give this back 10-fold.' But, she was wrong, because it's been more like 100-fold."

This year, A Pint for Kim is taking place at Naperville North High School, where Kim's sons now attend school. According to organizers all the beds were full, all day for what's considered the largest, single location blood drive in Illinois.

At least 100 more pints were collected this year. Organizers said it equated to 75 donors an hour.

You can find more information about the event here.