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September is National Sickle Cell Awareness Month, and a blood transfusion is the treatment most relied upon by those who suffer from the disease.
The first blood drive of the fall semester at the Indian Capital Technology Center, occurred Sept. 5. The event happens on the campus four times a year.
“We do them four times a year,” said Andrea McElmurry, health careers instructor at ICTC and coordinator of the drive. “We aim for 100 units each drive. Some drives are bigger, some are smaller. Usually, the fall drive is a good one for us because the students are getting back to school.”
According to the American Red Cross, a single-car accident victim can potentially require up to 100 units of blood. The most common blood needed is Type O.
“Our biggest need is always O, because O negative is that universal donor, and that’s always a big need, so anytime someone comes in with that type, we really like it,” McElmurry said.
Oklahoma Blood Institute supplies all of the blood to local community hospitals.
“We wanted to use [OBI] because it goes right back into our community,” said McElmurry.
Blood drives occur at many Cherokee County locations. One is planned for Sept. 19 at Northeastern Health System, in the Human Resources building at 201 Terrace Circle, from 1:30-5:30 p.m.
“There is a big blood shortage,” said Lacie Newman, education director at NHS. “OBI told us they are down to a two-day supply.”
Those wanting to donate at the NHS event can go on www.obi.org and make an appointment, and walk-ins are welcome as well, said Newman.
NHS holds a blood drive every month. On odd months, it is a one-day event, and on even months, the event takes place over two days.
Individuals who donate one unit can only donate every 56 days, and those who do a double unit donation must wait 112 days.
The next NHS drive after the September event, is Oct. 30-31. The times are 1:15-5 p.m. on Oct. 30, and from 9:30 a.m.-1:15 p.m. on Oct. 31.
Prizes of a glow in the dark T-shirt and a pass to the Oklahoma City Zoo will be given out at the NHS Sept. 19 event.
Aside from donating at a mobile unit or hospital, OBI encourages individuals to be a blood donation advocate for friends, coworkers and family. Starting a conversation with individuals in a person’s circle of acquaintances can overcome one of the most common reasons people don’t donate, which is nobody asked them to donate.
Talking to your workplace leadership and sharing the importance of hosting a blood drive can start the wheels rolling on a plan to host a blood drive.
Ronnie Jones, a long-time donor, waited for his turn to contribute at the ICTC drive. Jones is on the list of people who gets called whenever a drive is scheduled.
“It’s a good feeling to possibly help somebody stay alive in an injury,” said Jones.
Low iron is the most common reason a person could not donate, said McElmurry.
“There are some [other] things when they [are screened] that could cause a person not to be able to donate, such as taking certain medications,” said McElmurry.
McElmurry encourages people to come in and be screened to determine whether they meet the criteria for giving blood.
Hooked up to a centrifuge machine, Blaine Howe, a student who plans to graduate in 2025, gave two units.
“This is my first [time to give blood] in a while,” said Howe.
Sophisticated machines extract components of a donor’s blood to treat patients battling diseases such as sickle cell, leukemia, and other diseases. Statistics from the American Cancer Society states that many patients sometimes need blood daily during chemotherapy treatments.
A person can choose to give one or two units. Someone who donates a single unit of blood produces one pint of blood product. For those who are connected to the centrifuge machine, they give a double donation.
“What they are able to do is take the person’s blood out and it goes through the machine,” said McElmurry. “The red blood cells are removed for OBI, and the [person] gets their plasma back, so they are able to donate twice as much of the usable red blood cell product.”
Emmanuel Hewett is studying long-term health care. He had two reasons for giving blood, and the Oklahoma heat played into his second reason. Hewett is on the cross-country team.
“Well, it can save like three lives. And I won’t lie, I kind of don’t want to run after school today, so this will get me out of that,” said Hewett.
According to OBI, someone in the U.S. requires a blood transfusion every two seconds. The American Red Cross breaks it down further, stating that 29,000 units of red blood cells are required every day.
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