A blood drive will be held at The Commons this Thursday, and organizers say donations are needed due to an ongoing shortage.
Columbus Regional Health and Versiti Blood Center of Indiana have recently partnered to offer twice-monthly blood drives at The Commons, said Versiti public relations manager Kristin Paltzer. The next drive is set for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday.
Some open time slots remain for that drive where donors will receive a gift of a mini Bluetooth speaker as a gift.
“We can’t pay for blood donations, and we really rely on the community to come out and donate,” said Paltzer. “So we try to offer some fun, unique incentives to say ‘thank you’ for their time and as a token of gratitude.”
Versiti Blood Center of Indiana (formerly Indiana Blood Center) is a non-profit organization with blood donation centers in Indianapolis, Fishers, Carmel, Greenwood, Lafayette and Terre Haute. It also operates thousands of mobile and community blood drives each year throughout the state and provides “a continuous and safe supply of blood and biological services to more than 90 Indiana hospitals and their patients and beyond.”
The organization recently issued an emergency appeal for blood donations.
“Versiti has seen a drastic drop in scheduled appointments and the blood center anticipates the available inventory of blood to be at less than a one-day supply within the coming days,” officials said on June 14. “Versiti strives for at least a three-day supply of blood, so it can be ready to serve all patients, even during unexpected events.”
All types are needed, and Type O negative blood — used to treat trauma patients in emergencies — is “dangerously low.” Furthermore, only about 7% of donors have this type, meaning their participation is vital.
“As we head into the heart of summer, now is a crucial time for blood donation,” said Dr. Dan Waxman, vice president of transfusion medicine and senior medical director at Versiti, in an official statement. “With more people traveling and getting together, there is more opportunity for accidents and the subsequent need for blood.”
Need is typically higher around any holiday, said Paltzer, but blood donations tend to be lower during the summer. Additionally, the American Red Cross sees a 21% decline in donations during holiday weeks such as the Fourth of July.
“Even at the beginning of this year, the inventory of blood nationwide was the lowest it’s been in a decade,” said Paltzer. “We’ve seen a little bid of recovery. And then as we head into the summer months, we get into a really vulnerable position again.”
Many of Versiti’s blood drives and partnerships are with schools and universities, meaning that these donations drop over summer break. Paltzer added that the organization is also seeing fewer donors at mobile drives and donation centers because this is the “first real summer” people have had in two years — meaning that their focus is on travel and recreation, not giving blood.
Blood donations from Versiti drives typically go to the local community in which the drive is held, unless there is a major need somewhere else.
“There are times when the blood collected at Columbus Regional Health and those blood drives could go to a hospital system in Indianapolis based on need, if there’s a significant trauma event,” said Paltzer. “So overall, the blood appeal and the critical nature of it right now affects the entire state.”
Simply put, “the blood goes where the blood is needed,” she said.
