Thursday, January 08, 2009
Donating blood: Red Cross Appalachian Blood Services
"It's getting to be a struggle" finding donors, said a blood drive organizer.
Photo by Jeanna Duerscherl The Roanoke Times
Red Cross nurse Karen Shank weighs the blood collected from Robert Tilley, who has donated blood three or four times a year for about 25 years. The Red Cross center in Roanoke provides blood to more than 30 hospitals in 46 counties.
Photo by Jeanna Duerscherl The Roanoke Times
Blood donations tend to drop after the holidays because of bad weather, cold season and holiday traveling. The Red Cross in Roanoke tries to bring in 300 pints a day to meet the demand of hospitals.
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Stephanie Key has been donating blood since her college days at Virginia Tech and now, more than 22 years later, she coordinates blood drives for Norfolk Southern Corp. in Roanoke and recruits co-workers to give blood.
Her biggest challenges are finding first-time donors and replacing longtime donors who leave the company.
She recently organized the 40 NS employees who participated in the Red Cross Appalachian Blood Services Region's 35th annual Donorama Blood Drive at the Roanoke Civic Center.
"It's getting to be a struggle," Key said of finding donors for blood drives, especially events such as the donorama that are scheduled to boost regular collections.
But, said Key, herself a recipient of donated blood, the donorama is important.
"It's [held during] the holidays and a lot of people are traveling and busy and don't think about how much blood is needed.
"You never know when it's going to be us who need it," said Key, who required a blood transfusion during a Caesarean section nearly seven years ago. "You can't make blood, so you have to get it from people."
Giving blood, said Key, "is something I really believe in. People have to have blood to live."
Since becoming a donor in college, Key, now 44, has donated nearly 8 gallons.
NS was one of eight corporate sponsors that scheduled appointments for employees -- and in many cases provided transportation -- during the two-day December donorama. Employees of the corporate sponsors donated 231 units of the 432 pints of blood collected.
Even though the center didn't reach its donorama goal of 475 pints of blood, "it was comparable to last year and very successful," said Dave Smith, director of donor resources.
The donorama drew 31 first-time donors. Another 44 potential donors attended but were unable to donate mainly because of health-related concerns, according to Bob Lutjen, manager of marketing, public relations and communications.
The donorama has become an "event," different from other blood drives because of the number of volunteers and businesses that promote the event and provide food and entertainment in addition to recruiting employees as donors, Smith said.
But the donorama was only one of 2,600 drives in 2008, and it will be one of the 2,600 the Appalachian region will hold this year to collect 7,300 units of blood, he added.
The blood center serves more than 30 hospitals in 46 counties in Virginia and West Virginia.
