Summer is a difficult time for blood donations
‘The need for blood never takes a holiday,’ says Parkland official
When she’s not negotiating contracts in Parkland Health’s Contracting Department, you can find Petra Townsend donating blood. As a nine-gallon donor, Townsend has been donating blood for 47 years and makes it a point to donate every 56 days.
“I give blood so that those who need it will have it,” Townsend said. “It’s important to me because it’s sharing and caring for others by giving something so vital to their continued health.”
Blood and blood products are a unique and precious national resource because they are obtainable only from individuals who donate blood or its components, according to the National Library of Medicine. In the hospital setting, blood donations aren’t just for emergencies. Parkland providers use life-saving blood transfusions for medical procedures, cancer treatments, older patients with health issues, chronic gastrointestinal bleeding and sickle cell disease, among others.
In the case of mothers giving birth, blood donations can be a matter of life or death.
"Postpartum hemorrhaging following childbirth continues to be the leading preventable cause of maternal illness and death worldwide,” said David Nelson, MD, Chief of Obstetrics and Maternal Medical Director at Parkland Memorial Hospital and Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, UT Southwestern. “When maternal death is considered within the timeframe up to one year after delivery, postpartum hemorrhaging is responsible for approximately one-in-nine maternal deaths, with up to one-third of cases likely preventable."
Today, June 14, is World Blood Donor Day, a day when individuals across the globe are encouraged to roll up their sleeves, find the closest donation center and give blood. “Donating blood is an act of solidarity. Join the effort and save lives,” is this year’s theme. In 2005, the World Health Assembly and the World Health Organization (WHO) set June 14 as World Blood Donor Day to honor Karl Landsteiner’s birthday in 1868. He was a Nobel Prize-winning physician who discovered human blood groups. With summer in full swing, Carter BloodCare is reminding communities that blood donations typically drop as students go on break – high school drives account for 25% of the community blood supply – and families focus on vacations.
Parkland, a Level I trauma center, is one of the largest users of blood products in the area. In the fiscal year 2021, Parkland used approximately 20,528 units of red blood cells, 1,466 units of cryoprecipitate, 2,717 units of plasma and 1,501 apheresis platelets, which is the equivalent of about five to six individual units of platelets, according to Gene Fedorko, Lab Manager of Transfusion Services at Parkland.
In FY 21, blood products were used in the following departments at Parkland:
- Massive Transfusion Protocol, Trauma, or Severe Bleeds: 3,210 units, 12%
- Apheresis: 3,288 units, 13%
- Labor & Delivery: 1,943 units: 7%
- Other areas such as oncology, dialysis, etc.: 17,783 units or 68%
“The need for blood never takes a holiday,” said Fedorko. “It’s important that individuals consider donating blood and spreading the word about the need for blood during the summer. By being a blood donor, people have the opportunity to save lives!”
Parkland will host a Carter BloodCare blood drive from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 11. Carter BloodCare will have a mobile unit located outside the Maple Avenue Garage, adjacent to Parkland’s Moody Outpatient Center at 5143 Maple Ave., Dallas. The blood drive is open to the public.
Potential donors should bring a photo ID, know their medications, eat a good meal and drink plenty of fluids.
For more information on services available at Parkland, please visit www.parklandhealth.org. For more information on where to give blood with Carter BloodCare, please visit www.carterbloodcare.org.
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