Bank of Hawaii Thanks Employee with Surprise Gift for Giving the Gift of Life

552 — that’s how many lives Bank of Hawaii employee Paul Ramelb has saved.

Paul had been a blood donor, but then began donating platelets shortly after his aunt was diagnosed with cancer and learned that cancer patients often require platelets. Sadly, his aunt lost her battle, but Paul has continued to donate on her behalf, as well as for other patients like her, for more than 25 years since. A regular blood donation takes up to 10 minutes while a platelet, or apheresis, donation may take up to one hour and is a much more involved process.

A new video from Bank of Hawaii, released in honor of National Blood Donor Month, shows BOH Chairman, President and CEO Peter Ho surprising Paul with a very special gift for Paul’s ongoing donation.

“We have so many generous employees who give back to the community at Bank of Hawaii, and Paul is an extraordinary example of that commitment,” said Ho. “It’s amazing that Paul is at The Blood Bank every four weeks, without fail, and on behalf of Bank of Hawaii, we wanted to show our appreciation for his selfless support of such a worthy cause.”

An Alaska cruise was always on Paul’s “bucket list,” and the thank-you gift includes an Alaska “Inside Passage” Cruise for two on Celebrity Cruises for eight days/seven nights, with air and ground transportation and a balcony stateroom included.

Bank of Hawaii employees have been coordinating blood drives and making a personal decision to donate the gift of life since February 1997. Over the past five years, 237 Bank of Hawaii employees donated 1,650 pints of blood.

In 2018, Bank of Hawaii employees, called Bankoh Blue Crew, has donated more than 14,000 hours of community service.