A desperate need
American Red Cross currently seeking donors, drive volunteers and sponsors
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LEWISTOWN -- Lydia Wallace, American Red Cross account manager for Huntingdon, Mifflin, Juniata, Perry and Cumberland counties, said that "the need for blood is constant," however, the supply has diminished drastically and, therefore, donations are at an emergency need.
"An emergency appeal is only announced when blood donations are being distributed to hospitals faster than they are coming in and the supply of blood products on hand is declining," Wallace said.
Because donations are generally low during the winter and summer holidays, Wallace said drives throughout the rest of the year usually compensate for the low donor timeframes. This past year, however, due to weather related incidents throughout the country, that compensation didn't fully come through.
"We urge healthy donors who are able to travel to come out and donate, to help alleviate this shortage, so that hospital patients can receive needed transfusions of blood products," Wallace said.
According to a recent Red Cross news release, more than 27,000 fewer than the blood and platelet donations needed to maintain an adequate blood supply were collected during the weeks of Christmas and New Year's and, to date, the Red Cross has a less than three-day
supply, versus the five-day supply it strives to keep on hand to meet the needs of patients and be prepared for emergencies which could require significant volumes of blood.
On Thursday, the Knights of Columbus 10842 held a blood drive at St. Jude's Thaddeus Catholic Church in Mifflintown, offering homemade sweet breads and chocolate cake with peanut butter icing, donated snack bags of pretzels and cookies and hot dogs to everybody who came out to donate blood. Only 18 pints were collected, despite an expectation of 31 pints.
"There's such a need for (blood) this time of year," Joe Zarnowski, Knights of Columbus volunteer, said.
Zarnowski, of Walnut, has been volunteering with the Red Cross for 54 years, starting with establishing a blood bank at his first job in Somerville, N.J., and donates his own blood as much as five times per year.
"I'm probably close to 19 gallons now," Zarnowski said.
Cindy Gesselman, of Mifflintown, said she also donates four to five times per year and does it in remembrance of her grandmother, who used to organize local drives as a Gray Lady.
"I do it in honor of (her)," Gesselman said.
Tony Neimond, of Richfield, is also a regular donor of his A-negative blood and was contacted by the Red Cross to come and donate on Thursday. Wallace said known donors are contacted by postcard, email and phone in advance of a blood drive near their residence.
People interested in donating blood can call the Donor Client Support Center at (866)-236-3276 to determined their eligibility and locate a nearby blood drive. Wallace said the donor must make the call themselves due to confidentiality rules and because of possible follow-up questions which only the donor could answer.
Upcoming blood drives include:
¯1:30 to 7 p.m, Jan. 23, Reedsville Fire Company
¯10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Jan. 24, Walmart, Lewistown
¯12:30 to 6 p.m., Jan. 29, Richfield United Methodist Church
¯9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Jan. 30, Mount Union Area High School
¯1:30 to 7 p.m., Feb. 5, Friendship fire Company and Port Royal EMS at the Community Building, Port Royal
¯1:30 to 7 p.m., Feb. 8, Mifflin County Communications at the First Baptist Church on Third Street, Lewistown
¯1:30 – 6 p.m., Feb. 20, American Legion Auxiliary Unit 287 at Milroy Hose Company No. 1
Donors are encouraged to make an appointment at the drive to which they plan to go and to utilize RAPIDPASS on the day of the appointment, to expedite the donation process.
According to www.redcross.org, RAPIDPASS is a way for donors to complete their pre-reading and health history questions online to reduce they time they spend at blood drives by up to 15 minutes. Donors can access RAPIDPASS from their laptops, desktops and mobile devices by visiting redcrossblood.org/RapidPass or utilizing the Red Cross Blood Donor app. Once the information is collected and the questions answered, a QRC code is made available via email that can be printed or shown on a mobile device, then scanned at the blood drive. Those without access to a computer or mobile device can also utilize RAPIDPASS on tablets, made available at each drive.
One pint is generally taken per donor. The blood types most widely used are O-negative and O-positive, but people planning to donate are discouraged from worrying about their blood type, because all blood types are in need and donors can learn their blood type following their donation, either by way of their donor call or by creating a donor profile on the Red Cross Blood Donor app.
Other encouraging tips from the Red Cross include being in good health, going to bed early the night before, being well hydrated and eating a healthy meal prior to donation. Donors must be at least 17 years old, but there is no age limit to donate.
In addition to donors, Wallace said sponsors for blood drives and volunteers for those drives are also in need. The Red Cross offers online training for all volunteers. For more information, visit www.redcross.org or call (888) 217-9599.