PHOENIX — Hundreds of blood donors are needed every day to meet the needs of patients at dozens of hospitals across Arizona, but right now there’s a crucial need for blood donations.
While there was a great turnout recently at a big blood drive in Tempe, the need is still great.
“I had a son-in-law that had cancer and he needed a lot of blood and platelets, so I’ve been doing that for years,” said Verlene Gray, one of the many who showed up to donate blood at the "Saving Arizona Blood Drive" at the Tempe Center for the Arts on Sunday.
“I think it’s great that we can do those things… know that I’m doing good,” she added.
With a new year upon us, it’s a critical time for blood donations. The pandemic has only made it more challenging for Arizona to maintain its blood supply.
“Many companies still have a large percentage of their employees that are working virtually,” said Sue Thew, communications manager for Vitalant in Arizona.
She said the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is the lowest week of the year for blood donations followed by the highest blood usage month of the year.
“So that’s kind of the perfect storm for blood shortages,” she said.
While they had a great turnout at this blood drive, a shortage in donations remains.
“We do have a critical need… an escalated sense of urgency for Type O blood,” Thew said. “That is the universal donor, that blood can be substituted for other blood types in times of shortages.”
Thew said they typically host about 300 blood drives a month, but they’re down by a third with only about 200 blood drives per month, while patient blood usage continues to escalate.
“Every single day 600 blood donors are needed to meet the needs of patients in the 62 hospitals we serve here in Arizona,” she said.
Michael D’Ambrosia and his wife used to donate at work, but they saw the call for donations and attended this drive to be part of the solution.
“It’s always nice to give back to the community and fill a need, especially a healthcare need,” he said.
“It seemed like a good way to start the new year together, doing something that could help someone else,” his wife added.
Thew said the hope is that they will bring in enough donors to bring in a full day's worth of blood supply.
“Go out and donate, just donate, it doesn’t hurt,” Gray added.
Vitalant is partnering with the Waste Management Phoenix Open by providing blood donors with a voucher for a free one-day entry to the February tournament for all donors through Jan. 10.
For more information, go to: https://vitalant.org/phxopen.
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