Oklahoma Veteran Continues Helping With Blood Drives While Battling Cancer

Even while battling cancer, a local veteran is determined to help others.

Murry Estabrook has been helping to host blood drives for almost twenty years, along with Claremore High School.

Estabrook was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in January. However, that hasn’t slowed down his passion to help people.

He’s the Senior Naval Science Instructor at Claremore High School and knows what serving all is about because for 24 years he served in the Navy before retiring as an Electronics Intelligence Officer. 

Estabrook said he wants to motivate the community to donate blood. He said more than 4,000 units of blood have been donated since he started working at the school 17 years ago. There were two blood drives held just this month.

“Those two drives together brought in 121 units of blood,” Estabrook said.

The need is especially critical now, as the Oklahoma blood institute has had a shortage of blood due to the pandemic. OBI said local blood supply typically operates at a three-day supply, but the increase in demand left the organization with just a one-day supply.

“[It] scares me because we have kids that need it,” Estabrook said.

Donations from the blood drives have helped more than 30 kids at the district with cancer.

Principal Kerri Garroutte said for more than a decade, the school has been the biggest donors compared to any other school in the state. It’s an achievement she said, that couldn’t have been done without Estabrook.

“He has been a huge role model for our students, in showing them how to volunteer and in one of those ways is donating blood,” Garroutte said.

The school’s next blood drive will be in June.