2008 Woodie Awards
Donations lacking in summer months
Faith Franklin
Issue date: 6/6/07 Section: News
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"Usually people tend to go on vacation, kids are out of school or people simply forget to donate blood," said Joette Phillips, communications director for the Murfreesboro Red Cross.
The absence of students leaves a lack of blood supply, said Anita Wiggins, director of manufacturing and distribution for the Murfreesboro Red Cross.
"The blood supply decreases during the summer because we don't have the student population," Wiggins said. "That entity of donors does not seem to go to our mobile drives. If they are at school and their aware of it, they donate, but once they leave school it's like they take the summer off and don't continue to donate."
Due to the waning participation in donation and the lack of school blood drives, around 14 percent of the overall donations are lost, Phillips said.
"Every 2 seconds someone in the United States needs blood," Phillips said.
During the summer alone 4,060,800 Americans will need blood, and a donation from one person can save up to three lives.
Wiggins said people might only donate when there is a crisis, such as Sept. 11 and Hurricane Katrina, and the need for a blood supply is evident.
"There is a constant need for blood," Wiggins said. "We have surgeries scheduled every day at every hospital that we are trying to support."
The Tennessee Valley Region Red Cross covers 91 counties in Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky and parts of Illinois and Missouri.
Phillips explained that donating blood is a simple procedure that takes a total of one hour. A person comes in, reads information and gets a mini-physical.
During the physical, a person would have his or her pulse, temperature, blood pressure and red blood cell count taken. Then the participant sits in a donor chair and will receive a momentary needle prick.
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