By Katie Teachout
The Journal 

Blood drive brings donors old and new

Blood in short supply due to cancellations

 

Last updated 3/16/2021 at 12:38pm

Katie Teachout

Pam Souza draws blood from Bernie Reid while co-worker Ginger Dyer gathers supplies for the next donor. Reid said she has donated blood 35 times. Ryan Reilly, pictured in the black mask behind the phlebotomists, said he donates blood as often as he can.

RITZVILLE – A community blood drive at Lind-Ritzville High School netted units of blood for East Adams Rural Healthcare Friday, Mar. 12.

"It's been a pretty good day. We had some no shows, but we're hopeful we will meet our goal of 15 units," Audrey Hermann with Vitalant said during the last half hour of the three-hour event. "With every blood drive, we like to set a goal so we can let the local hospital know how much blood to expect."

"It's been nice. We were able to see some high school students today, since they didn't have school. We never know, when there's no school, if any students will show up."

Hermann said three Lind-Ritzville students donated blood.

"It was the first time, for all of them," Hermann said.

Ryan Reilly of Ritzville said he donates blood as often as he can. "My blood type is O+, so it's in demand," Reilly said.

Bernie Reid, also of Ritzville, said she has received blood in the past, and donates often.

"They told me this is my 35th time donating," Reid said.

Hermann said the last time they were in town for a blood drive was during the snowstorm a couple of weeks ago.

"We were doing a blood drive at the hospital, and the bus got stuck on the way over there," Hermann said. "That was just two weeks ago, and the difference in the weather today is like night and day. We were glad to see spring on the way."

Hermann said with social distance in place, they had room for four donors on the bus along with three staff members.

"When the pandemic first came, we had to shut down using the bus for blood drives, and just use it for collecting blood. Then we updated our air filtration system to the same as systems used on airplanes," Hermann said. "Now we can have seven on the bus, so we zig-zag donors to keep their heads six feet apart, and don't use all the beds on the bus."

Hermann said under normal circumstances, they have room for six donors on the bus at once.

Hermann checked donors in outside the bus, taking their temperature and questioning them about any possible exposure to Covid-19. She asked them wait in their vehicle until a donor exited the bus, making room for the next one.

Vitalant, a non-profit national organization, has a regional headquarters in Spokane; with a location in Moses Lake, three in Spokane, one in Coeur d'Alene and one in Lewiston.

"We service hospitals first, and we supply about 35 hospitals in the region," Hermann said.

She said she joined Vitalant a year ago in February.

"I was just three weeks out of training when we went into lockdown," Hermann said, adding she has been in recruiting about three weeks now.

"I'm a bus driver. They just recruited me to donate blood," Souza laughed as she began work on a donor. "No, seriously, I started as a bus driver and then they trained me to be a lab."

"Pam drove for Spokane Transit Authority, then for a hospital before coming to work with us," Hermann said. "She just recently became a lead. The lead is a senior member who runs the ship. They determine things like when to take lunch, and if there's any problem, that's who you turn to. Pam just stepped into that role four months ago, and she's been rocking it."

Hermann said the bus driver, while not trained to draw blood, had other important roles such as being the historian.

"The bus driver asks questions regarding health history, like if you've traveled anywhere outside of the United States in the last five years, in case of deferrals for an area. Those are usually a malaria-related country," Hermann said. "The things we need to check off are making sure your iron level is good enough to donate blood, and your blood pressure and heart rate."

All the blood and platelet donations are tested for COVID-19 antibodies. If a donor has tested positive for COVID-19 and recovered, their plasma may be able to help patients currently fighting the virus, according to the Vitalant website.

The website states that with many blood drives having been cancelled, an individual's donations matter now more than ever.

Hermann reported back Mar. 15 that they collected just 12 units for their goal of 15.

"While we were short three units, those 12 units we did collect have the potential to impact 36 lives in our community," Hermann said. "We are hoping that at our next drive on Wednesday, May 12, we are able to meet that goal."

Author Bio

Katie Teachout, Editor

Katie Teachout is the editor of The Ritzville Adams County Journal. Previously, she worked as a reporter at The Omak-Okanogan County Chronicle, the Oroville Gazette-Tribune, Northern Kittitas County Tribune and the Methow Valley News. She is a graduate of Western Washington University.

 

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