A couple of weeks ago I urged you to consider donating some food or money to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. Soup kitchens and social agencies across the state are finding that demand is outpacing supply.
This may be pushing it, but here comes another request. But this one doesn’t cost a dime – so you don’t have to split this with the food bank.
How about stopping by the Rhode Island Blood Center in Providence or one of its other offices and rolling up your sleeve? A pint of blood could save as many as three lives – not bad for 30 minutes of your time.
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These next couple of weeks are crucial for the blood center and all of its facilities. People are preoccupied with shopping and holiday parties. And this year, the calendar is not helping matters.
“With Christmas and New Year’s falling on a Thursday, many people are taking a long weekend,” said Kathy Connolly, director of public relations at the Rhode Island Blood Center. “But this is a great Christmas gift – a gift that can’t be bought.”
Connolly explains that the need to stock the shelves at the blood center exists every day of the week, all yearlong. There is really no such thing as “stocking up.”
First, the blood that is donated goes through extensive testing, for such things as HIV, all types of hepatitis and West Nile, just to name a few. All of the blood has a limited shelf life.
The Rhode Island Blood Center is the only blood collection agency in the state. It services all of the state’s hospitals. On average, the blood center needs to collect 240 pints each day. One pint of blood provides red cells, which last for just more than a month but are usually used within a few days; platelets, which only last five days, and plasma, which is frozen and lasts for a year, but is usually used much sooner than that.
Half of the blood donated is used for people undergoing surgery. The other half is used for patients who may be hospitalized or undergoing outpatient care, such as cancer or leukemia patients receiving platelets and red cells each week. Accident victims also use the blood.
Carolyn T. Young, M.D., is the medical director at the Rhode Island Blood Center. She points out that the number of people who require blood is staggering.
“People with anemia may need blood, ulcers, and those with chronic diseases,” she said.
The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and more recently, last February’s fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick that claimed 100 lives and seriously injured many more, both served to motivate many blood donors.
“The Station fire … it put into people’s minds that they should donate,” said Young.
Young said the two incidents brought a wave of new donors. The key, said Young, is getting them to come back.
So Young and all of those who work at the blood center do everything they can to make a visit there a good experience. It doesn’t take long. Often, only 30 minutes. There’s a snack in the deal and a drink.
Most importantly, it’s important. There are accidents and fires every day. And away from the headlines, there are so many people who battle serious illness.
I asked Young what message she has for you.
“Please just do it,” said Young. “You never know who is going to need blood. “The process is very safe. It’s an easy thing to do.”
Blood center policies change over time. Many people, according to Connolly, think they can’t donate blood due to medications they may be taking or because of misinformation they hear. If you have specific questions, just call.
Also, businesses may want to consider hosting a blood drive as part of a morale-boosting event. The blood center will work out the details, as long as you have at least 10 people willing to take part.
The Rhode Island Blood Center has facilities at 405 Promenade St. in Providence; 700 Aquidneck Ave., in Middletown; 14 Woodruff Ave. in Narragansett; and at the Warwick Mall, 400 Bald Hill Road, in Warwick.
The main number is 1-800-283-8385. With the exception of major holidays, it is open every day of the year and most days there is a blood drive going on somewhere near you.
