Officials at UCHealth Garth Englund Blood Donation Centers ask the public to consider donating blood within the next three weeks to help save lives as local blood supplies are critically low.
The seasonal lull and impact of COVID-19 isolation precautions this year have dramatically impacted local blood supplies while patients’ needs have increased. Kaitlin Zobel, the donor recruiter at the blood donor centers, and her team are encouraging eligible donors to begin the new year with real meaning by donating blood to aid hospital patients in need.
“This is a good year to resolve to make a difference in someone else’s life when they need the most,” said Kaitlin. “Every time you donate blood, you can save up to three lives in less than an hour,” Kaitlin said.
Donations of all blood types are needed and important, but the center especially needs donors with A and O blood types and donations of whole blood and platelets of all types. Donations can be scheduled at either Garth Englund’s blood donor centers in Northern Colorado located at 1025 Pennock Place in Fort Collins or UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies located at 2500 Rocky Mountain Ave., in Loveland.
Those looking to donate must be at least 18 years old or 17 with a parent’s permission and have photo identification. Donors must weigh at least 120 pounds and be in good health and eat a good meal before their appointment with plenty of water.
Both blood centers are also in high need of new platelet donors, which aid patients with chronic diseases such as cancer, patients with blood disorders and transplants, and those who undergo major surgeries or sustain major injuries. Platelet donations take anywhere from 90 – 120 minutes.
All blood donated through UCHealth’s Garth Englund Blood Donation Centers stays local to help patients at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, Greeley Emergency Surgery Center, Longs Peak Hospital in Longmont, and Estes Park Health.
“We love our donors, but we need more to be able to keep up with the demand at the hospitals,” said Kaitlin. “We only have so many in our database who donate platelets on a regular basis, and the bottom line is that platelet transfusions are outnumbering the donations we’re getting,” Kaitlin said.
For more information regarding the UCHealth Garth Englund Blood Donation Centers, visit https://www.uchealth.org/locations/garth-englund-blood-donation-center-fort-collins/ or to learn more about eligibility requirements, the donation process and donation center hours, visit: http://bit.ly/uchealthblood