About 150 pints of blood donated by Iowans is helping people who were injured in the recent hurricanes in Texas and Florida to recover, but more donors are urgently needed to support hospitals in Iowa.
Danielle West, spokeswoman for LifeServe, says they’ve already forwarded south all the pints they can spare. “We’ve sent some to Florida and some to Texas so far to help them either prepare for the hurricanes or as part of their recovery efforts,” West says. “Our summer supply wasn’t great here locally so we’re also in need. We want to cover our local hospitals first before we send anything more out nationwide.”
LifeServe is calling on all potential donors across Iowa to roll up their sleeves and give the gift of life. “All of our blood types are at a lower supply than we’d like them to be,” West says. “We’re always looking for O donors because they’re the universal donors and they’re the highest population, but really anyone and everyone. If you’ve never donated before, we’d love for you to give it a try. We’re just looking for anyone who can come in as soon as they can.” One donation of blood can help to save three lives and West says it’s not a big commitment of a donor’s time.
“It’s normally a 45-minute process from start to finish,” West says. “You come in, check in, there’s a short questionnaire, we do a mini-physical and you’re only in the chair for 5 to 10 minutes, and then we have snacks at the end.” LifeServe is the only provider of blood and blood products to 120 hospitals in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. To schedule an appointment, call 800-287-4903 or visit www.lifeservebloodcenter.org.