Blood is one of the most valuable resources most people can give. One in seven people who enter a hospital will need a donation of blood to survive. This means that every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs a transfusion to live.
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| American Legion Post 148 members Leon Davies and Maryann Johnson staff the canteen and talk to donor Al Stafford during an American Red Cross Blood Drive at the Windham Veterans Center in March. The event yielded 27 units of whole blood collected for area hospitals. |
“More blood donors are needed to save lives,” says Steve Thomas, executive director, Red Cross Southern Maine Chapter.
Members of the American Legion Post 148 here in Windham are helping to lessen this donor deficit by hosting Red Cross sanctioned blood drives every month. These drives are held on the third Wednesday of every month from noon to 5 p.m. at the Windham Veteran’s Center, 35 Veterans Memorial Drive in Windham.
The next blood drive at the Windham Veterans Center will be held on Wednesday, April 16.
Most people with all blood types can give blood, but there are a few restrictions. People who are under 17-years-old, under 110 pounds, physically limited, and had past conditions like cancer cannot give blood. There are other, rarer restrictions that you can find at https://www.redcrossblood.org/faq.html#eligibility.
Giving blood seems like a daunting task, but Thomas said that the Red Cross ensures that the process is quick, confidential, and safe.
The first step to donating blood is making an appointment by calling 800-RED-CROSS (800-733-2767) or by going to www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/find-drive. Go to the link, enter your ZIP code, and choose a donation site.
After this, select a time to donate. If you have an account with the Red Cross, you can sign in at this time, but if you don’t have an account, you need to make one to donate. Once you are signed in, then you’ll be asked to confirm your appointment. Once completed, you are officially signed up to give.
When the day arrives to donate, you go to your appointment, provide your name, address, phone number, and identification will be collected to sign you in. After this, you will be taken into a private room and a staff member will conduct a confidential interview about your medical and travel history, and a mini-physical will be conducted. From there, the blood donation will begin.
Thomas says that the donation itself is only about 8 to 10 minutes on average and is performed by Red Cross-trained phlebotomists, people who draw blood professionally.
When the donation is complete, you will be offered cookies, water, and juice while you sit in the refreshment area. This step is to ensure you are healthy and hydrated before you leave. After waiting about 10 to 15 minutes, you are good to go and enjoy the rest of your day. This entire prosses takes only about an hour and a half.
After you leave, a sample of your blood is put into a test tube and the rest stays in the collection bag. Both are then put on ice. The test tube is brought to a testing location to confirm blood type and to make sure it is safe to use. The donation blood is transported to a Red Cross processing center.
“At our processing center, whole blood donations are spun in centrifuges to separate it into transfusable components: red cells, platelets, and plasma,” Thomas said. “Each component is packaged as a unit, a standardized amount that doctors will use when transfusing a patient.”
Upon processing, some of the blood that was deemed safe to use by the testing location is sent to hospitals to have on hand, and some is kept at the Red Cross facility.
Hospitals can request blood from the Red Cross around the clock as needed. The hospitals then take that blood and transfuse it into patients who need it. Because your whole blood donation is divided into components, your single donation can help more than one person.
American Legion Post 148 is not the only organization to host regular blood drives in the area. There is a Red Cross donation center at 524 Forest Ave. in Portland that is open seven days a week, eight hours a day.
The Red Cross organizes about 500 blood drives a day to supply hospitals with the blood they need. The Red Cross began collecting blood for the U.S. military in 1941 but then expanded their efforts to a nationwide program in 1948. They opened their first blood donation center in Rochester, N.Y. and more spread across the nation.
According to Thomas, the Red Cross knows what they are doing and will ensure that all donors are safe and comfortable during the entire process. <
Most people with all blood types can give blood, but there are a few restrictions. People who are under 17-years-old, under 110 pounds, physically limited, and had past conditions like cancer cannot give blood. There are other, rarer restrictions that you can find at https://www.redcrossblood.org/faq.html#eligibility.
Giving blood seems like a daunting task, but Thomas said that the Red Cross ensures that the process is quick, confidential, and safe.
The first step to donating blood is making an appointment by calling 800-RED-CROSS (800-733-2767) or by going to www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/find-drive. Go to the link, enter your ZIP code, and choose a donation site.
After this, select a time to donate. If you have an account with the Red Cross, you can sign in at this time, but if you don’t have an account, you need to make one to donate. Once you are signed in, then you’ll be asked to confirm your appointment. Once completed, you are officially signed up to give.
When the day arrives to donate, you go to your appointment, provide your name, address, phone number, and identification will be collected to sign you in. After this, you will be taken into a private room and a staff member will conduct a confidential interview about your medical and travel history, and a mini-physical will be conducted. From there, the blood donation will begin.
Thomas says that the donation itself is only about 8 to 10 minutes on average and is performed by Red Cross-trained phlebotomists, people who draw blood professionally.
When the donation is complete, you will be offered cookies, water, and juice while you sit in the refreshment area. This step is to ensure you are healthy and hydrated before you leave. After waiting about 10 to 15 minutes, you are good to go and enjoy the rest of your day. This entire prosses takes only about an hour and a half.
After you leave, a sample of your blood is put into a test tube and the rest stays in the collection bag. Both are then put on ice. The test tube is brought to a testing location to confirm blood type and to make sure it is safe to use. The donation blood is transported to a Red Cross processing center.
“At our processing center, whole blood donations are spun in centrifuges to separate it into transfusable components: red cells, platelets, and plasma,” Thomas said. “Each component is packaged as a unit, a standardized amount that doctors will use when transfusing a patient.”
Upon processing, some of the blood that was deemed safe to use by the testing location is sent to hospitals to have on hand, and some is kept at the Red Cross facility.
Hospitals can request blood from the Red Cross around the clock as needed. The hospitals then take that blood and transfuse it into patients who need it. Because your whole blood donation is divided into components, your single donation can help more than one person.
American Legion Post 148 is not the only organization to host regular blood drives in the area. There is a Red Cross donation center at 524 Forest Ave. in Portland that is open seven days a week, eight hours a day.
The Red Cross organizes about 500 blood drives a day to supply hospitals with the blood they need. The Red Cross began collecting blood for the U.S. military in 1941 but then expanded their efforts to a nationwide program in 1948. They opened their first blood donation center in Rochester, N.Y. and more spread across the nation.
According to Thomas, the Red Cross knows what they are doing and will ensure that all donors are safe and comfortable during the entire process. <
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