Over the past three weeks, the Blood Center has been forced to cancel dozens of blood drives (68, and counting) leading to a loss of more than 2200 donations due to record cold tempatures, snow, and ice. If you are able to safely travel to donate blood this week, please do. To find a donation location near you, call (800) 747-5401, visit www.bloodcenterimpact.org, or use the Blood Center’s IMPACT mobile app.
With another winter storm on the way to portions of our service region, we will continue to provide information on the impact of winter weather at www.bloodcenter.org/weather.
In 1898, it was discovered that inherited differences in people’s red cells were the cause of many of the incompatibilities seen with transfusions. Four blood types were identified. During World War I, when human blood was needed for transfusions for wounded soldiers, studies of how to preserve and transport blood began.
Not until World War II, however, did the development of effective preservative solutions make blood transfusions widely and safely available. There have been many advances since then, including the discovery of additional types of blood such as the Rh-positive and Rh-negative classifications.
Today, thanks to these advances, full utilization is made of nearly every blood donation. Elements of blood can be separated by centrifuge. Plasma can be preserved by freezing. Each blood element can be used to treat different diseases.
In addition, prospective donors are thoroughly screened before giving blood, and every donation is tested for diseases it may carry, and any blood testing positive for a disease is destroyed.
Millions of times each year in the United States, human blood is required to save the lives of people suffering from accidents and disease. There is no way to manufacture human blood outside the body. That is why the Blood Center plays such a vital role in the healthcare of our region.