Saving Lives, One Pint at a Time
By Maegan Krohn, 2/8/2020
According to the WHO, “blood is the most beautiful gift that anyone can give to another person — the gift of life.” When millions of Americans need blood transfusions every year, this couldn’t be more true.
The American Red Cross says that blood donations are at an all-time low currently and urge people to donate blood and platelets, especially those with rare blood types such as type O negative, the universal donor, that only makes up 7 percent of the U.S. population. Only 37 percent of people can donate at all – and we only see 10 percent that actually do.
Well, Illinois Central College is doing its part to help the cause — the ICC softball team hosted an American Red Cross blood drive last week, which allowed people to donate by appointment or by walk-in. The team had a goal of collecting 60 pints over the drive’s two days, which could save almost 200 people. “We like doing things that give back to the community or to people, like raising money for St. Jude or blood drives for the American Red Cross,” said softball player Aubrey Hunt.
The Community Blood Center states that someone needs blood every 1 or 2 seconds, and that 1 in 7 people entering hospitals need blood. In January 2020, the American Red Cross reported a “critical” shortage of type O blood; only enough to last about three days. They accredited this to weather causing blood drives to be canceled and flu outbreaks leaving donors unable to give blood. Shortages like this make it increasingly important for local organizations and communities to host blood drives like this one at ICC.
The World Health Organization states that “blood transfusions are needed for women with complications of pregnancy, such as ectopic pregnancies and haemorrhage before, during or after childbirth, children with severe anaemia often resulting from malaria or malnutrition, people with severe trauma following man-made and natural disaster, and many complex medical and surgical procedures and cancer patients.”
“It is also needed for regular transfusions for people with conditions such as thalassaemia and sickle cell disease and is used to make products such as clotting factors for people with haemophilia.”
Especially for people with rare blood types, donating is not only important to those who receive, but to the donors themselves. “I’m AB negative, and I know it’s rare and hard to find, so I like knowing that there’s a way I can help, because that could be me needing it,” said ICC student Catherine Trotter about donating.
“I’m O negative, so I know that it’s needed. I’m happy to know that I’m giving it to people who need it, too. I think about it like this: I have this blood in my body all the time, so why shouldn’t I give some up? I don’t see the problem,” said student Ashley Mullozzi.
If you or someone you know are interested in donating blood or hosting a blood drive, you can visit the American Red Cross website at https://www.redcrossblood.org/.