The new year has brought old challenges for the Rock River Valley Blood Center. There never seems to be enough blood available to meet the many needs in the community.
Donor traffic has been down about 13 percent for the past four weeks, according to Jennifer Bowman, PR and marketing manager for the Rock River Valley Blood Center. Bowman attributes the decline to the cold and flu season.
“When people have fevers and flu symptoms, they are not able to donate. That means we have an even smaller pool of willing people from which to supply area patients,” she said in a news release. Bowman said there have been about 350 fewer donations than expected.
There is an urgent need for platelets, a key clotting component of blood often needed by cancer patients, burn victims and bone marrow recipients. Platelets must be transfused within five days of donation, and Bowman says it’s important to have a steady supply of platelets on hand.
Blood can be safely donated every 56 days so the sooner you donate the more often you can donate this year. You can help more often if you are a platelet donor. Platelets can be given every seven days — up to 24 times a year.
Oh, and there’s pizza. If you donate blood this month you will receive an online coupon for a free medium one-topping pizza or cheese sticks from Papa John’s. Donors are automatically entered to win one of six grand prizes including pizza for a year. Most of us are happy with cookies and juice, so pizza is a nice addition.
Every two seconds, someone in the United States requires a blood transfusion. Blood cannot be made artificially. The only way to have enough blood to save lives is through your blood donations. According to the American Red Cross, about 38 percent of the U.S. population is eligible to donate but less than 10 percent actually does so each year
Donating blood costs only about a half-hour of your time. It’s one of the easiest ways to make a difference in your community.
To donate blood, you must be in good health and at least age 17 (16 with parental consent) and weigh at least 110 pounds. Donation is totally safe. Your body has about 10 pints of blood circulating at any time. About 1 pint is given during a donation.
Rock River Valley Blood Center has facilities at 419 N. Sixth St. and 3065 N. Perryville Road in Rockford, 1740 S. State St. in Belvidere and 461 E. South St. in Freeport. Hours vary.
For more information or to make an appointment to donate blood, please call toll free 877-RRVBC-99 or find RRVBC on the web at rrvbc.org.
The Rock River Valley Blood Center serves as a centralized, community blood center and is the only provider of blood products and services to Beloit Health Systems, Edgerton Hospital and Health Services, FHN, Mercyhealth Hospital-Rockton Avenue, OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center, Rochelle Community Hospital, SwedishAmerican Health System and SwedishAmerican Medical Center, Belvidere.
We hope those of you who had a cold or the flu are feeling better and have resumed your normal routines. We also hope that giving blood is part of that routine. If not, make it your new year’s resolution to give blood in 2018.