The Pine River Lions hosted a blood drive with Vitalant on Wednesday, June 16, at Lifehouse Coffee, which helped collect a total of 31 units of blood products for patients in need.
A total of 31 individuals volunteered to donate blood and 30 individuals were able to donate. One donor came forward to donate Power Red Cells (2RBC), which collects two units of red blood cells while returning platelets, plasma and a saline solution back to the donor.
Six people volunteered for the first time.
Don Norman coordinated the drive.
Vitalant is testing all successful blood, platelet and plasma donations for the foreseeable future for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. If a donation is antibody positive, Vitalant can produce convalescent plasma from it to help COVID-19 patients. The remaining blood components will help other patients with serious medical conditions.
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Antibodies are proteins within plasma that help fight off infections. Because antibodies are part of the body's immune response and not the virus itself, antibody testing cannot be used to diagnose current coronavirus infection.
Donors are asked to postpone their donation if they are feeling unwell or suspect they may have COVID-19. Individuals must be symptom free for at least 14 days to be eligible to give blood.
Donors can make an appointment to give blood at www.vitalant.org or by calling 877-25-VITAL. With each donation, donors receive a free total cholesterol test. The next blood drive at this location is planned Tuesday, Aug. 31.
Blood donation takes about an hour from check-in to refreshments. Donors can save about 20 minutes by completing their health history questionnaire the day they donate at www.vitalant.org /health.
