Local American Red Cross needing more summer donors
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IDAHO FALLS — Fewer people are donating blood this summer, according to officials with the American Red Cross for Southeast Idaho.
“I’ve worked for the American Red Cross for 22 years this month, and it always happens, but sometimes to greater and sometimes to lesser extent the summer donations do drop off,” senior donor recruitment manager Christine Gladstone said.
Gladstone told EastIdahoNews.com it’s a difficult time to get blood to patients, and donors tend to disappear because of summer plans and travel.
“The need (for blood) is constant. Vacation plans and summer activities often cause donors to come in less, and they’re less available because they’re busy doing things,” Gladstone said.
She said reports from the American Red Cross show 20 percent of blood donations are coming from high school and college-aged students between the ages of 16 and 24. Each day the American Red Cross needs 14,000 units of to meet the needs of patients on a national level.
“We get an awful lot of donations from schools, from high school students, students doing projects, but many students, as you’re all aware, are out for the season, so consequently that puts a huge whole in somewhere where we generally get lots of blood,” Gladstone said.
She said if blood donors ran low on a regional level situations for those needing blood locally could be dire. Public relations director for Bingham Memorial Hospital Mark Baker said thankfully that situation has never been the case at the hospital.
“From an operational standpoint, we’ve never run into a situation where we’ve needed a blood bank, and it’s not been available,” Baker said.
However, Gladstone said the need for blood is constant at hospitals and transfusion centers because blood has a shelf life of 42 days.
“What the American Red Cross does is truly vital and important to health care and to peoples lives. Anytime there is an opportunity for people to give, we would encourage it,” Baker said.
Tuesday is World Blood donor day, and the American Red Cross will be hosting a blood drive at its office on 1165 East 17th Street. The drive will go from 1 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. The goal for Tuesday is 33 units of blood.
“It’s a good time to show where your heart is and to actually donate blood,” Gladstone said.
Gladstone said her end-of-the-summer goal is 160 units of blood for the month of August. People can sign up to host a blood drive can contact her at (208) 520-1957.