Colton Hanson was a giving soul. He was the kind of kid who, at Christmastime, saw a mom struggling to pay for diapers, bread and milk and took the groceries out of her cart, put them in his and paid for them all.

Colton’s family carries on their son’s giving spirit by hosting a Red Cross blood drive each year on the anniversary of his death. Those Twin Falls drives not only honor Colton’s legacy but aim to inspire others to give the vital blood products that extended Colton’s life.

They also make a difficult day a little bit easier for the Hanson family.

“We wanted to give back someway in Colton’s memory,” Colton’s mom Tina said. “He was such a giver, and he used so many blood products, that I knew these drives would give back at least some of what he used.”

“His spirit is always with us on that day. Doing the blood drive makes a very hard and heavy day light.”

Colton had a quick wit and a contagious smile, his mom said, and loved doing the typical things many boys his age enjoy -- hanging out with family and friends; fishing, hunting and camping; and playing football. But when Colton – who was always in great shape -- suddenly started struggling to keep up with his teammates, his coach and his mom knew something was wrong.

Just a week shy of his 16th birthday, Colton was diagnosed with leukemia, a cancer of the blood. He was immediately airlifted to Salt Lake City, beginning an exhausting five-year battle full of medications, tests, hospital stays and blood transfusions.

Despite undergoing chemo treatments and all the side effects that come with that, Colton continued to play football and graduated with his class, a tremendous feat considering how much school he had to miss.

After graduation, the next three years continued to be a struggle as Colton fought for his life. After receiving a bone marrow transplant from his older brother, Colton was diagnosed with graft-versus-host disease, a disorder that occurs when the graft's immune cells recognize the host as foreign and attack those cells. Colton passed away on May 3, 2015.

But Colton’s legacy lives on. His family has organized Red Cross blood drives ever since. In nine years, these drives have collected more than 500 units of lifesaving blood and have inspired 80 first-time donors to come through the door. Colton’s nieces and nephews have helped run the drive for the last couple of years, in hopes they will keep it going for generations.

All of this would have put a smile on Colton’s face.

“I feel in my heart Colton is so proud of us and so very happy that we give back in his name,” she said. “He was such a giving person that even on his deathbed he wanted to make sure others were taken care of.”

Tina said the generosity of blood donors extended Colton’s life by at least three years, but those blood products weren’t always easy to come by. She doesn’t ever want to see another family having to cope with a blood shortage while they’re already dealing with a seriously ill child.

“I was that mom in the hospital calling people to please, please donate because they didn’t have enough blood when my son was going downhill fast,” Tina said. “I don’t want that to happen to another mom.”

Now Colton’s family – many of them type O negative or O positive donors – frequently donate as well.

“Once you give, it makes you feel like you’ve done some good in the world,” Tina said. “There’s nothing better than to feel you’ve done something good that day.”

RAISE YOUR HAND, ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVE

Every two seconds, someone in this country needs lifesaving blood, including children battling cancer and other serious illnesses. To find a blood drive near you and make an appointment to donate, visit [RedCrossBlood.org]RedCrossBlood.org and enter your zip code or call 800-RED-CROSS. Donating blood takes less than an hour, and a single donation can help save more than one life.