Local donors gave more than 400 pints of blood last year through Holland Hospital and its partners, helping save 531 lives, according to Director of Laboratory Services Nicholas Decker.
“Locally, I think we perform a little bit better than the national average. We've got some very strong historical donors in our area and market, and they keep us going. We've been able to maintain a constant inventory on hand this year, especially 0 + and 0- are in highest demand, but we utilize about 150 units of blood every single month, so it's challenging.”
Decker explains that blood products are essential beyond trauma care.
“Cancer patients tend to use up a lot of blood products. Burn victims, cardiac surgery recovery, and some lifelong genetic disorders. Those are things that I think sometimes get overlooked and they're vital.”
Winter months are critical with need usually up but donations down.
“Things like motor vehicle accidents, trauma situations. And of course, the blood donation supply chain starts 30 to 60 days before we really need to use products. So if you think about the winter months, that's historically the holiday season for most people. And a lot of travel takes place and sometimes schedules are interrupted, so donations can be challenging this time of year in particular.”
Decker encourages anyone able to donate blood to make appointments with Versiti Blood Center, the Red Cross or the local hospital.
Holland Hospital is hosting its next blood drive this Friday.
hollandhospital.org/events/blood-drive
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