By Taylor Boyd
Small localities are stepping up as blood donations plummet in some areas, and officials say the need is urgent.
“Every two seconds someone in the United States needs blood,” Jackie Grant, executive director of the Southwest Virginia Chapter of the American Red Cross, said.
“Even though we have a pandemic right now, the need for blood is urgent. We have folks right now in the hospital battling cancer, heart disease, children fighting sickle cell disease cell (SCD), mothers giving birth, premature babies being born, and accidents and traumatic injuries. Donated blood helps with all of these things,” she said.
Grant said the organization receives blood from willing donors.
“With the pandemic, we are only having blood donations in places that have a lot of space so we can stay the required six feet apart,” she said.
Jack Vestal, Rotary Club member, said COVID-19 rates and natural disasters have forced some blood drives in larger cities to halt.
“When disasters occur all blood drives in the effected region are forced to stop. When a hurricane hits the coast of Virginia, those donations must stop. I think it has been months since Louisiana has been able to have a donation day,” he said, and added “the Red Cross is somewhat relying on smaller areas for donations because of this.”
Donation amounts at the Rotary Club building in Stuart were 46 pints in September and 26 pints in October, he said, and added “the amount of donated blood was almost halved despite the need.”
Grant said, “we encourage everyone to donate, and every blood type is needed,” but Type O blood is especially needed.
“It’s the universal donor blood type, and it is especially useful in situations where doctors and surgeons don’t have the time to test the patient’s blood,” she said.
One of the initiatives the organization is pushing is the need for African American blood.
“Richmond is actually one of the highest areas requesting blood for sickle cell patients. It’s based upon the certain blood type needed by origin, and the blood donated by African Americans can be cross matched better to help” people suffering from the illness, Grant said.
It also is an opportune time for people to donate, because the COVID-19 antibody test is performed on all donated blood.
“So, if people who weren’t feeling good months ago come in and donate, they can log into their Red Cross account between eight– and 10-days after donation and see if the antibodies were present in their blood,” she said.
If antibodies are present in donated blood the donation is still used, Grant said.
“However, if someone has a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 by a doctor, and they have fully recovered, they may be eligible to give their platelets or plasma, which is different than a standard donation,” she said, adding these donations are performed at specific donation sites which can be viewed on the American Red Cross website.
“The antibody positive blood is not a treatment for people with COVID-19, but it does help in the recovery from the virus,” Grant said.
The plasma and platelet donation takes about two hours, compared to the regular five– to 10-minutes a regular blood donation takes. The plasma and platelet donation are “taking the whole blood from one arm, running it through a centrifuge to extract the platelets and plasma, and putting the whole blood back in your arm,” Grant said.
The blood drive is held the second Tuesday of every month at Rotary Field. Anyone interested in volunteering to help the Rotary Club with the blood drives should contact Vestal at (276) 340–8808.
