The Daily Southerner, Tarboro, NC

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  • Delores J. Porter of Princeville is a regular donor when the American Red Cross comes to Tarboro to hold a blood drive. Porter said she gives blood every 57 days and has “gone through so many (donor) cards, I can’t tell you.” Two more public blood drives are scheduled this month at Eagles Baptist Church in Macclesfield and at Vidant Edgecombe Hospital.

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August 17, 2012

Saving lives: Blood drive highly successful Thursday

Editor and Publisher John H. Walker

TARBORO — “Every time you give, you save three lives.”

Delores J. Porter of Princeville, who said she donates blood to the American Red Cross every 57 days, was adamant about the importance of giving blood.

“It saves lives,” she said.

Porter was one of the first 35 persons to arrive at the Braswell Center on Thursday for the first of three public blood drives to be held in Edgecombe County between now and the end of the month.

Next up is a drive from 3 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 28 at Eagles Baptist Church in Macclesfield followed by a blood drive from 10 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 31 at Vidant Edgecombe Hospital. An employees-only blood drive is scheduled for QVC on Monday.

The American Red Cross says its national blood supply has hit its lowest level in 15 years due to severe weather and a slow summer of donations.

According to Ellen West, of the Mid-Atlantic Region Blood Services office in Greenville, the organization is almost always in need of Type O blood.

West, who works the eastern region of the state, says the difference in giving between Edgecombe County and other counties is marked.

“I have regulars (in Edgecombe) who have given 25 and 30 gallons over the years, while other counties have people who give two or three gallons.”

West said that every drop of blood is vitally important, but said she thought the level of civic and community pride in Edgecombe was reflected in the manner in which its citizens support the drives.

In a report in USA, summers are notoriously slow for the Red Cross, but this year, the organization received 50,000 fewer donations than expected in June and hit emergency levels by the end of the month.  There are half as many blood products available today compared to the same time last year.

Red Cross officials blame severe storms, which caused the cancellation of dozens of blood drives, as well as heat waves, which have kept potential donors at home inside.  Businesses have also held fewer drives.

The shortage is at a critical stage and, in the worst-case scenario, people may have to delay or cancel elective surgeries if needed blood supplies are not available.

"In a worst-case scenario, more serious procedures — things like liver transplants that require a lot of blood — will not start until there is enough blood on the shelves," says Richard Benjamin, chief medical officer of the Red Cross. "We need to do everything we can to make sure it doesn't get to that point."

Persons interested in donating blood must:

• Be healthy (If you have a chronic condition such as diabetes, healthy also means you are being treated and the condition is under control.)

• Be at least 17 years old

• Weigh at least 110 pounds

• Hydrate by drinking an extra 16 ounces of liquid before and after your donation

• Avoid foods high in fight just prior to your donation

• Remember to bring your driver’s license or two other forms of ID with you, as well as a list of medications you are taking.

For more information, call 758-1140.

 

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Local News
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  • Heat.jpg Warmest day this year reaches mid 90's

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    June 14, 2013 1 Photo

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