Blood drive at UNMC on Dec. 31; reserves in short supply

Did you know… About 60 percent of the population is eligible to donate, yet only 5 percent of the eligible population actually donates blood. Donors need to be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds and be in good health to be eligible. Under normal circumstances, every two seconds someone in America will need a blood transfusion. Blood transfusions are used for trauma victims – due to accidents and burns – heart surgery, organ transplants, women with complications during childbirth, newborns and premature babies, and patients receiving treatment for leukemia, cancer or other diseases, such as sickle cell disease and thalassemia. The entire blood donation process takes about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Several factors figure to be detrimental to the region’s blood supply this holiday season. The flu season has begun early, keeping some donors home, and snowy weather has done the same. In addition, Christmas and New Year’s Day fall on Thursday this year, which typically would mean that those weekends’ blood donation totals would be slower than normal, much like the four-day Thanksgiving weekend.

UNMC employees will have the opportunity to enhance the blood supply, as the campus is hosting a special blood drive on Wednesday, Dec. 31, from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Center for Healthy Living. The blood drive, originally scheduled to end at 11:30 a.m., was extended for two hours because of the current need for blood. Employees can sign up by clicking here or by contacting the Center for Healthy Living at 559-5254.

“The Red Cross has indicated that the snow and flu have dramatically reduced its collections. Healthy individuals are needed to donate blood,” said Peter Pellerito, who organizes the UNMC blood drive. “We realize that people are busy with holiday parties and other preparations. In addition to the holiday gifts that employees give to friends and family this year, we encourage them to give the gift of life, as well.”

Blood has a shelf life of only 42 days, and donors can give once every 56 days. Employees who donated blood at the Oct. 30 campus blood drive will be eligible to donate again on Dec. 31.

Pellerito, who works in the UNMC Center for Healthy Living, said the American Red Cross is giving donors who show up for their scheduled appointments a “Blood Buddy,” a small plush blooddrop shaped figurine. Currently, fewer than 20 people are signed up to donate at UNMC on Dec. 31, Pellerito said.

“In the past, this campus really has answered the call to donate,” Pellerito said. “The blood-donating process takes just a little over an hour, with only about 10 minutes of that time actually having blood drawn. It really is a small commitment on the giver’s part, compared to the impact that it could have on someone else’s life.”