Dean of Students John Brogan donated double red blood cells at Northwestern’s blood drive September 27 and 28.
Over 110 pounds, healthy, hydrated and 17 years or older. These are parameters most students find easy to meet, and thankfully so. This is what it takes to save a life to be a blood donor.
As Collection supervisor, Melissa Goss and a rotating team of approximately 10 people hit the road nearly every day to work at high school and college blood drives as well as “open to public” drives. Her job as supervisor consists of assigning daily schedules and being the “go-to person” that insures that things run smoothly.
Goss says that high schools and colleges have generally good turnouts and that the typical age range of the donor varies on the type and location of the drive. Students can begin donating as early as 16 but must have parental consent, and there is no upper age limit.
Freshman Amanda Kirsch is one student that began as soon as possible. “This will be my fourth time; I’ve done it since I was sixteen in high school.”
Junior Sherry Runia has also been giving blood regularly for several years. She recalls, “I started giving blood when I was 17. The first time, I almost fainted, but that didn’t really scare me away. I just keep giving blood because it saves lives.”
And why not? The process is rather simple but the effect is profound. Goss explains that during registration you answer a questionnaire and go through the screening process to ensure that your medication usage will not prohibit being a donor. “Once we determine that everything complies with the guidelines, we check your temperature, blood pressure, pulse and iron level.”
Then the donor has an option of giving whole blood or double red cells. Goss encourages giving double because it is better for both parties involved. The transfusion causes less of a reaction for the recipient and the giver is re-hydrated immediately by a saline solution. This method can save one life instead of three and it doesn’t require pooling with other donors. Red cell donations are commonly used for cancer patients because their red cells die off as they fight the cancer and can’t regenerate like a healthy individual can.
Blood is placed in different bags according to blood type and donor medication. As a first time donor, you will be notified of your blood type after testing occurs at the lab. However, all blood types are always necessary, and demand changes weekly based on users and shelf life. O- is especially desirable as it is the universal donor.
After the blood is drawn and bags are labeled they are placed in a cooler and transported to the lab in Sioux City. At the lab, the blood is centrifuged or spun down into cells, platelets and plasma, and must be placed in the refrigerator within just eight hours. Red cells are usable for 42 days.
The blood also undergoes thorough testing to check blood type and screen for diseases like HIV, Hepatitis B and West Nile. Nancy Hittle, Director of Laboratory for Siouxland Blood Bank, says, “Anytime there is blood that tests positive or outside normal limits, we discard those products because we want to have the safest blood supply.”
The products are then given directly to be stored at immediate disposal in various hospitals “so that they’re always prepared to treat emergencies,” said Hittle.
Whether that means newborn babies needing a blood exchange, an elderly person who’s fallen and broken her hip, a patient that needs stabilization in an emergency or a victim of trauma with massive bleeding or internal damage, Hittle assures that from donor to technician “we help a variety of people in many different areas.”