Reprinted from the Health District's quarterly publication mailed to district residents (Spring 2002)
TOPIC: Giving blood: Helping neighbors , friends and strangers in need
 
by kathy hayes

During most months last year, the Garth Englund Blood Center received from donors 500-600 units of blood, an amount that barely meets the community's need.

But when the Sept. 11 tragedy occurred, says blood center Technical Specialist Susan Epperson, "we had so many donors, we had to set up mobile draw stations in some of our supervisors' offices."

People donated 1,535 units of blood to Poudre Valley Hospital in September and October, which helped replenish the blood center's dwindling supply.

Named after its founder and PVH's first medical director, the Garth Englund Blood Center provides pure, potent, safe blood for accident victims, cancer and heart-surgery patients, people with blood disorders, and other patients in need. About 95 percent of the blood drawn goes to patients hospitalized in Fort Collins and Estes Park. PVH also has exchange agreements with other Colorado hospitals.

When a dire need arises outside Colorado, PVH can provide blood to Bonfils Blood Center in Denver, which is licensed to ship blood to other states. Bonfils Blood Center transported blood to New York after the twin towers fell, but because so few people survived, the need for blood was not as great as originally anticipated.

Donating blood regularly several times a year better ensures that adequate blood supplies will be available when needed, says Epperson. "Not everybody realizes that blood is a perishable product. It only lasts 35-42 days." Platelets, which contain clotting agents, last only 5 days, Epperson adds.

In Fort Collins, the need for whole-blood and platelet donations is ongoing. Supplies tend to dwindle in the summer when many people are vacationing. Blood demands also rise around holidays and tax time, when accidents and stress-related medical problems often increase the need for transfusions.

The blood center, located at 1025 Pennock Place, Suite 104, is open weekdays. Staff also conduct mobile blood drives at companies, schools, and other locations as requested.

donors: what you need to know

Garth Englund Blood Bank
1025 Pennock Place, Suite 104

hours
Monday, Tuesday 7 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Thursday 10 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Friday 7 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Information/appointments: 495-8965 or visit  www.pvhs.org/services/blood_donor.php3. Call to set up a mobile blood drive at your church, school, club or business.

you may donate if you:
  • Are 18 years old, or 17 with a parent's permission
  • Weigh at least 110 pounds
  • Are in good health
you may not donate if you:
  • Have been exposed to the hepatitis or AIDS virus
  • Have had a major illness or surgery in the past year
  • Had body piercing, tattoo or acupuncture in the past year
  • Had cancer symptoms in the past 5 years
  • Had a miscarriage or abortion in the past 6 weeks or are pregnant
  • Lived in or traveled to the United Kingdom from 1980 to 1986 and stayed 6 months or more
  • Have been to a malaria-risk country in the past year
what to expect
A blood-donation session, which takes about 45 minutes, includes:
  • Information and health interview
  • Physical screening tests (temperature, blood pressure, finger-prick blood test)
  • Blood draw (10 to 15 minutes)
  • Recovery (rest and a snack)

Trauma and open-heart surgery patients often need the blood-clotting agents found in platelets. Donating platelets is similar to donating whole-blood but takes about an hour longer. Platelet donations perish after 5 days.

If you're scheduled for surgery and know that you will need blood, you can, with your doctor's permission, donate 2-3 weeks before the time you will need it.

Risk of infection
There is virtually no risk of infection when donating blood. When receiving donated blood, the risk of getting HIV is 1 in 1,930,000. The risk of getting Hepititis C is 1 in a million.
blood types  
  • O negative: universal donor. "That's what we can give to trauma victims, before we even know their blood type," says blood center Technical Specialist Susan Epperson. "We always like to keep a good level of O negative blood around."
  • O positive and A positive: the most common blood types.
  • AB negative: rare. However, people with AB negative blood can receive A negative-, O negative, B negative and AB negative blood.
  • AB positive: next rarest. People with AB positive can receive any blood type.