Vitalant Blood Donation Centers need blood donations

FARGO — Vitalant Blood Donation Centers throughout North Dakota need about 4 to 500 donations a day, but since May, the blood supply in the metro has been down more than 25% and some of the supply was used for patients after Friday’s deadly police shooting.

Maintaining adequate blood supply is critical to helping patients after accidents, cancer treatments, and other chronic diseases and emergencies. But right now Vitalant’s Blood Donation Center is experiencing an Emergency Blood Shortage.

“Typically, we like to have 3 to 4 days of blood on hand and right now we’ve got less than two-days supply of the O-negative and O-positive blood types,” said Vitalant regional director Jennifer Bredahl.

Type O or O-negative blood types are used the most for emergencies. Platelets are also in short supply.

“Some people are using platelets for their cancer treatments once a week or every 10 days and then when it’s an emergency situation, such as Friday, we use several of them in a day, or in an hour,” Bredahl said.

According to Bredahl, all blood types are currently needed because they are always on call to deliver to hospitals around the region.

“We want to make sure that hospitals have as much on their shelf, as they can have, but yet, that we have some available here so that in trauma situations we can race out with more supply rather with it being out in all these different hospitals throughout the state,” Bredahl said.

If enough blood is not available at any given moment, delays in patient care can mean life or death.

“I mean, it’s one of those things. If people are going to choose what to do to give back to their community, donating blood is something that doesn’t cost us anything, but it truly will save lives,” Bredahl said. “They have not come up with a product to replace blood and basically volunteering it is the only way we can offer to everybody right now,” said Bredahl.

Bredahl said a rewarding part to donating is getting a text letting you know you saved someone’s life.

Vitalant recommends people donate blood 4 times a year. Walk-ins are welcome at their clinics or donors

can make an appointment online

or over the phone.

Local drives and Vitalant site information can be found

here

.

My name is Anne Sara, better known as Sara.
I was born an only child in Port-au-prince, Haiti and moved to the U.S at the age of 2.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is where I was raised.
After graduating with my bachelor degree at Albright College, I moved to Florida to continue my studies.
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