2008 Woodie Awards
Local blood center reports high demand for donations
Kenton Butcher
Issue date: 4/29/08 Section: Community
Blood donations are low in Middletown, causing many area blood banks to offer incentives to attract potential donors, said Middletown Community Blood Center spokeswoman Sher Patrick.
Patrick said that in the past, the blood center has given away $5 gas cards, boxes of doughnuts, T-shirts and free lunches with hopes of attracting more blood donors.
Carolyn Holland, account representative of the Middletown Community Blood Center, said that the blood center is now attempting to entice more people to donate during the upcoming blood drives by offering donors a chance to win valuable prizes in two raffles.
From May 1-8, anyone who registers and donates will be automatically entered to win one of 20 $100 gift cards to a spa of their choice for their mother on Mother's Day.
Also, between May 23-31, anyone who donates blood will be entered into a contest for two tickets to a Jimmy Buffet concert.
"While T-shirts and things like that are nice, we just wanted to give people a chance to win something really nice," Holland said. "It's our way of saying thank you."
According to Holland, the blood center is 945 blood units away from its desired goal.
"We have been below our goal for some time now," Holland said. "The types of blood we need the most are the types of blood most people have if only they were willing to donate. We really need O negative blood because it is the universal donor and we are 200 units below where we need to be."
Holland added that a typical donor can donate one unit of blood in less than an hour. One unit of blood is equal to one pound, Holland said, and could potentially save three different people.
"Once we receive the blood it is then separated into plasma and platelets," Holland said. "The plasma and platelets are then sent to local hospitals where they are used as needed."
Patrick said that the reason for the lack of blood is not because there are fewer donors, but because the rate of blood transfusions has grown faster each year than the rate of donation.
"We increase the amount of blood collected each year by about 2 percent, and over the same amount of time the transfusion rate has grown by about 3 percent per year," Patrick said. "This is a gradual increase we expected to see as the population grows older. On the bright side, we have seen the incentives we offer help increase the amount of donors recently. Everyone likes to get something for free and we feel like donors deserve a little something."
Miami University senior Jason Pennington said he has not donated blood in four years, but he would be much more inclined to if he had the opportunity to win prizes and get free merchandise.
"I haven't donated blood since I graduated high school, but if I had the chance to win a prize or got free stuff I'd definitely be more willing to give blood," Pennington said.
For more information on donating blood and upcoming blood drives, visit the Middletown Community Blood Center Web site at
www.givingblood.org.
Patrick said that in the past, the blood center has given away $5 gas cards, boxes of doughnuts, T-shirts and free lunches with hopes of attracting more blood donors.
Carolyn Holland, account representative of the Middletown Community Blood Center, said that the blood center is now attempting to entice more people to donate during the upcoming blood drives by offering donors a chance to win valuable prizes in two raffles.
From May 1-8, anyone who registers and donates will be automatically entered to win one of 20 $100 gift cards to a spa of their choice for their mother on Mother's Day.
Also, between May 23-31, anyone who donates blood will be entered into a contest for two tickets to a Jimmy Buffet concert.
"While T-shirts and things like that are nice, we just wanted to give people a chance to win something really nice," Holland said. "It's our way of saying thank you."
According to Holland, the blood center is 945 blood units away from its desired goal.
"We have been below our goal for some time now," Holland said. "The types of blood we need the most are the types of blood most people have if only they were willing to donate. We really need O negative blood because it is the universal donor and we are 200 units below where we need to be."
Holland added that a typical donor can donate one unit of blood in less than an hour. One unit of blood is equal to one pound, Holland said, and could potentially save three different people.
"Once we receive the blood it is then separated into plasma and platelets," Holland said. "The plasma and platelets are then sent to local hospitals where they are used as needed."
Patrick said that the reason for the lack of blood is not because there are fewer donors, but because the rate of blood transfusions has grown faster each year than the rate of donation.
"We increase the amount of blood collected each year by about 2 percent, and over the same amount of time the transfusion rate has grown by about 3 percent per year," Patrick said. "This is a gradual increase we expected to see as the population grows older. On the bright side, we have seen the incentives we offer help increase the amount of donors recently. Everyone likes to get something for free and we feel like donors deserve a little something."
Miami University senior Jason Pennington said he has not donated blood in four years, but he would be much more inclined to if he had the opportunity to win prizes and get free merchandise.
"I haven't donated blood since I graduated high school, but if I had the chance to win a prize or got free stuff I'd definitely be more willing to give blood," Pennington said.
For more information on donating blood and upcoming blood drives, visit the Middletown Community Blood Center Web site at
www.givingblood.org.
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