Summertime brings increased demand for blood donations

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - In any form of trauma care, blood is one of the most important resources in saving a patient’s life.

And no one knows this better than Mercy Hospital’s Trauma Program Coordinator Terrence Funke.

“Blood is very important because hemorrhage control is really important. Because patients can lose a lot of blood very quickly depending on the type of injury.” he explained.

On any given week, ImpactLife, which supplies several hospitals in Eastern Iowa with blood, aims to have about 3600 units in storage.

But Public Relations Manager Kirby Winn says that’s not where they’re at right now.

“We’re at about a two and a half day supply, two and a half day inventory as we put it, for type O negative and O positive... where we really want to be is at a 5-day supply.” said Winn.

And this gap could grow even wider.

As more people resume outdoor activities in the summer, the number of traumatic injuries goes up...

But the number of blood donations usually goes down.

“We are getting to the end of our blood drives that we hold at schools. High schools, colleges, universities, even some elementarys will have us in for blood drives. And they’re a really big, significant source of donors through the year.” he said.

But that doesn’t mean donation opportunities are unavailable.

ImpactLife says any organization, school, or business can sign up for a mobile blood drive and make an impact.

And for those on the fence about donating, Funke says to think about donating blood as more than a needle in your arm.

“It’s actually good to recycle your blood. And it’s awesome to be able to help somebody else. Getting over that initial fear, you find out it’s really not so bad.” said Funke.

Winn also says first and second time blood or platelet donors can receive compensation, redeem prizes, or even make a donation to a charity as a reward for donating.

For more information on eligibility requirements, click here.