LBCC, American Red Cross Team Up On Campus Blood Drives

 

Stepping up to the challenge of solving an emergency blood shortage, the American Red Cross is pairing up with LBCC to hold blood drives on campus and save lives one donation at a time. 

Linn-Benton is collaborating with the Red Cross to host blood drives to solve the emergency blood shortage, which has been causing problems over the last six months. The Red Cross’s website states that the trend started when donations dropped 25% last July due to intense heat waves driving away donors around the country. Donation rates still haven’t fully recovered since last summer. 

Since then, volunteers have worked hard advertising the blood drives around campus to improve student and faculty turnout. Most recently on Jan. 14-15 in the Calapooia Center’s Fireside Room. Students and faculty promoted the event through in-person and online communications. 

Student Leadership Council volunteer coordinator Quincy Summerlin facilitated intake during the blood drive on Jan. 14. He said 50 out of the 58 available appointment slots were filled on Tuesday, marking a significant improvement in participation. 

Summerlin described the mission of the Red Cross as noble. “They exist to save human lives.” 

When asked what types of donations are most sought after, he said all blood type donations are vital to saving lives. Summerlin said that O-negative donations are always in high demand because of how essential it is for hospitals to have on hand in cases where blood needs to be administered as quickly as possible, leaving no time to test for blood type before beginning the transfusion. 

According to the Red Cross's website, trauma patients have a 5% greater risk of death for every minute a blood transfusion is delayed. Power Red and Whole Blood are the most important in solving the current shortage. 

“Power Red lets your donation go further,” said Summerlin. This type of donation produces a concentrated vial of red blood cells in which a donor can safely donate the equivalent of two whole blood donations while having their plasma and platelets returned to them. 

Since red blood cells are the most commonly needed component of a blood donation by blood recipients, Power Red was created to address the need for red blood cells while taking less whole blood from the donor, helping up to six patients. That's double the impact of a whole blood unit per donation while only costing the donor 30 more minutes than a traditional whole-blood donation.

When asked what he would say to prospective donors who are hesitant about contributing, Summerlin said, “The pros outweigh the cons.” 

Perceived cons make many people reluctant to donate, whether due to the all-too-common phobia of needles or just being generally intimidated by the process. Getting more donors in the door is essential to fixing the blood shortage. 

“If you’re nervous, the people at the Red Cross will help you,” said Summerlin.

Returning for her fifth donation, whole blood donor Sarah Fraiser said, “If you’re afraid of needles, look away and go to your happy place.” 

The early childhood education major was hesitant to book another appointment due to almost passing out after her last donation nearly a year ago. Fraiser explained she believed this was due to dehydration, assuring this time she thoroughly hydrated in the days leading up to her appointment so she wouldn’t have the same issue. 

The Red Cross blood donation app, Blood Donor, emphasizes the importance of preparation before donating. Eating enough, hydrating adequately, and getting sufficient sleep is essential to creating a pleasant donation experience. 

When you donate using the app, you also can see where your donation goes to help people needing blood transfusions or other types of donations that the Red Cross facilitates. The Blood Donor app allows you to track your blood’s location during processing, where it is shipped to and notifies you when it’s used at a specific hospital, creating a fulfilling experience for the donor from seeing their donation directly impact people’s lives. Not yet listed on the app's location finder, LBCC will surely hold more blood drives on campus in the future. Until then, anyone who feels inspired to donate can use the app to find one of many locations around the Linn and Benton County areas to book an appointment. 

Supplying approximately 40% of the nation's blood, the Red Cross hopes this feature and additional public outreach efforts can save more lives, one donation at a time.