The American Red Cross needs your blood

Norwich ― Amid a nationwide blood and platelet shortage, the American Red Cross is urging everyone ― even “vampires” ― to donate a pint.

“As a vampire, I go back 364 years,” joked Casey Carle, of East Haddam, as he waited to have his blood drawn on a recent Tuesday morning. “But I only started giving blood instead of taking blood about 40 years ago in my 20s.”

In reality, Carle is a comedian, stage entertainer and avid blood donor who was one of the first inside the American Red Cross donation center at 45 Salem Turnpike for a blood drive last month.

In late September, the Red Cross announced that a decline in donors in August has led to a nationwide shortage of blood and platelets.

To replenish the blood supply, the Red Cross said it must collect “10,000 additional blood products each week over the next month to meet hospital and patient needs.”

“I think after the summer, people get back to their routines. Their lives are getting busy,” said Janet Shimeld, a supervisor for the American Red Cross of Southeastern Connecticut.

“There is no other replacement for blood,” Shimeld said.

“The need at the hospitals is outpacing the donations that are coming in,” Ed Fraser, a retired physician’s assistant at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, said last week.

For the past five years, Fraser has served as a volunteer ambassador for the American Red Cross, meaning he is the first person people see when they walk through the doors of the donation center. His job is not only to greet donors when they enter, but also to make them feel comfortable throughout the the process, he said.

“I have so much respect for the donors that come in,” Fraser said. “I want to show them how appreciative I am that they are walking through that door.”

As a cancer survivor himself, Fraser said he knew the shortage was serious when he saw a recent Red Cross commercial on television that showcased patients who were fighting cancer and need the blood to increase their white blood cell count during chemotherapy.

“I had to stop chemo because my blood count was low,” Fraser added.

Fraser said the donation center held a drive two weeks ago that had just eight donors throughout the whole day. At the Norwich donation center last Tuesday, 25 donors were on the schedule. Around six had come in when it opened at 1 p.m..

“A good drive,” Fraser said, “is about 25 people.”

“This is not normal,” Fraser said. “At this time each of those beds should be full.”

‘Truckloads’ of blood

“I’m working on my third gallon,” Carle said. “That’s not a big deal. Some people have done, like, truckloads.”

Carle scrolled through his American Red Cross Donor app on his phone, which showed the amount of blood he’s donated in his lifetime ― 30 units. Each unit is approximately 470 cubic centimeters of blood.

Carle said he started donating around 30 years ago.

Sitting in the center’s waiting area, Steve Claffey, 60, of Uncasville, waited to give blood, which he does every eight weeks. Claffey started donating blood when he was 18, he said, and since then it’s become a routine.

“Back then I don’t think there was a lot of blood shortage, but there’s always a need,” Claffey said.

The American Red Cross Blood Donor App has new features that enable donors to fill out information ahead of time so the on-site donation process only takes about an hour or so, Claffey said.

Marko Fontaine, a 45-year donor and Norwich resident, had arrived as the blood drive opened and had filled out his information on the donor app before he entered. He walked over to the counter where his bar code was scanned and then sat and waited for his blood to be drawn.

A few minutes later, Fontaine lay in one of center’s cushioned beds and joked with the phlebotomist as she carefully eased the needle into his arm. Then his blood was pumped into a pint-sized bag where it was mixed with an anticoagulant to keep it from clotting.

Fontaine said he prefers to donate at a permanent location like the one at 45 Salem Turnpike because it offers a more clinical setting versus mobile centers he’s donated at in the past.

“If you’re a first-time donor, this is the place to do it,” he said.

For more information on blood drives in the area or to make an appointment, visit https://www.redcrossblood.org/.

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