Ryan Lieber memorial blood drive set for July 15, 16 in Sterling

The Ryan Lieber Memorial Blood Drive-2026 was on the Logan County Chamber of Commerce calendar for Wednesday, July 15, and Thursday, July 16, as summer blood donations sagged and the need for blood kept climbing. In Sterling, the drive carried both a memorial purpose and a practical one: giving local patients a better chance when hospitals and emergency rooms need blood fast.

The Chamber says each donation can help impact up to three lives in about one hour. Donors were asked to schedule with Dave Lieber at 970-580-1278 or tractordoctor1@gmail.com, a local arrangement that kept the drive rooted in family, neighbors and the people most likely to turn out for a cause with direct medical consequences. The event also sat within Sterling’s busy July calendar, where the county seat continues to serve surrounding communities including Crook, Fleming and Iliff.

The timing mattered beyond Logan County. The American Red Cross declared an emergency blood shortage on July 13 after the national blood supply fell nearly 25% in June, while distributions to hospitals were running nearly 3,500 units higher per week than expected. On July 15, AABB, America’s Blood Centers and the American Red Cross issued a joint statement urging eligible donors to make and keep blood donation appointments this summer to help maintain a safe and adequate supply.

Ryan Lieber’s name gives the drive its lasting personal meaning. Ryan Lee Lieber was born July 17, 1986, and died March 22, 2008, in Sterling at age 21. His obituary noted memorial services at Trinity Lutheran Church, tying the blood drive to a local loss that still resonates in town years later. In that sense, the drive served two needs at once: remembrance for Ryan Lieber and a straightforward way for Sterling to help patients who depend on donated blood after surgery, accidents or medical treatment.