Kawyn Beswick, R.N./Morrison Community Blood Program Team Leader, submitted the report and photos.
The autumn Morrison Community American Red Cross Blood Drive was held on the afternoon of Thursday, November 17, 2022, at St. Mary Catholic Church Hall, from noon to 6:00 p.m., the week before Thanksgiving. It was the final Morrison Community blood drive of 2022. St Mary Church not only provided the facility, but they also were the sponsor of the canteen. The women who purchased groceries and prepared sandwiches and cookies were Lana Nugent, Connie Helms, Fran Plude, Kathy Vos, and Diane Britt. Thank you, ladies, for providing lunch for the donors, staff, and volunteers. They greatly appreciate it; some places they go to do not give them anything to eat or drink.
Volunteers who assisted at the blood drive were St. Mary parishioners Joan Vander Bleek, Dan Runions, and Jim and Betsy Prombo. Knights of Columbus members who helped clear out the hall the evening before and put everything back after the drive were Terry and Ruth Hoehn and Jim Fisher. The Certified ARC volunteers who worked the registration table were Pat Pendgraft and Irma Russell. Thank you, all who lent a hand and gave their time to make the drive run smoothly. I am thankful for each and every one of you.
The ARC staff always report to me that the food is great, and they enjoy the music and fun camaraderie at our drives. They always are full of compliments about how gracious and understanding the Morrison Community blood drive donors are, when there is a delay or problem. That makes this Blood Drive Coordinator very proud!
This drive had 75 appointments to fill. I did my best getting all the time slots filled with donors, having 68 of 75 filled a couple days before the drive. But, six people cancelled, which is totally understandable, if illness occurs or something comes up. The day of the drive we had only five no-shows, which really isn’t a huge number. Unfortunately, we had 11 donors get deferred from donating, most reasons were due to low iron/hemoglobin. One was due to elevated blood pressure, and one was due to their heart rate being too fast. Not that the nine deferred were really anemic. ARC requires a number on the high side of normal, so once a person donates, they are not anemic when they leave the drive. I feel like there are more people with “low iron/hemoglobin” during the winter months, when there is less sunshine and colder temperatures.
At the January 2023 drive, I will have a heating pad (like the clinic labs do) for donors to warm their hands and to improve the finger-stick blood test number. We also will encourage donors to wash their hands with warm water before donating. ARC staff has told us this helps some.
I can also give donors a link to read the foods that help increase iron/hemoglobin counts: https://www.redcrossblood.org. One place is located on the Blood Donor App, that donors can upload onto their smart phones for free.
The wonderful people who came out to give Whole Blood and help save up-to-three lives were Barb Imel, Stephanie Vavra, Randy Kuehl, Lori Ploenzki, Norm Edlund, Julie Damhoff, Lyle Bush, Nancy Countryman, Stephen Sippel, Deborah Adolph, Cheryl Geiger, Jackie Damhoff, Luke Vander Bleek, Catherine Downs, Philip Olt IV, Martha Kophamer, Chris Hawkins, Pam Shank, Sarah Bull, Connie Tegeler, Sheila Sonberg, Niki Strohmayer, Bill Anderson, Carolyn Aiken, David Temple, Trish Kingery, Nancy Bartels, Tim West, Matt Hill, Robyn Stewart, Ken Stewart, Kaywyn Beswick, Megan Huffman, Sue Gomez, Teresa Slagle, Joe Bielema, Beth Wroble, Melinda Cadogan, Donna Weets, and four others (one woman and three men) that did not want their names published as blood donors.
There were eight Double Red Cell/Power Red donors, who donate two units of Red Blood Cells (packed RBCs), and only need to come in three times a year. They were Craig Brady, Cindy Hoogheem, Jim Fisher, Joseph Sage (who also reached the Two Gallon milestone), Kathleen Adams, Amanda VanDover, and two gentlemen who did not want their names published (one earned the Three Gallon status.) I am very grateful for everyone, who comes to donate blood! I’m also thankful for our faithful Volunteers and our regular Canteen Sponsors. You all help the blood drives run smoothly.
I am sad to report that I have recently lost several Double Red Cell/Power Red donors. Some have become anemic, some have developed medical conditions prohibiting them from donating (cancer, leukemia, etc.), and some have moved out of State. One passed away unexpectedly. So, at the next few blood drives you may be asked to try donating double red cells, if you are the correct blood type, height, and weight. A donor needs to weigh at least 110 pounds in order to give any kind of blood product. You have to be a certain BMI (body mass index) to give double reds. The blood types eligible are O+, O-, A-, B-, and AB-. If you think of your blood as ”beef stew,” then you can see the difference between giving whole blood and giving double red cells. A whole blood donor is donating the whole “ladle of beef stew,” with the meat, potatoes, carrots, and gravy. Everything goes into the bag; and that same bag is the one taken to the patient to transfuse it into them. Using this analogy, the meat represents Red Blood Cells; the potatoes are White Blood Cells (WBCs); the carrots are the Platelets; the gravy is the Plasma.
When a person donates RBCs/Power Reds, they are giving two units of red cells (two helpings of meat), and getting all the rest of their own blood (potatoes, carrots, and gravy) infused back into their body. Double Red Cell/Power Red donors can give five units in a 12-month calendar year, specific to the individual donor’s donation history 12 months back from the date of donation.
Whole Blood Donors can donate six units in a 12-month calendar year. The ARC recommends that you increase your iron intake before donating, either by taking Flintstones Gummy vitamins (Really! That is what the ARC says.) or by eating more red meat, poultry, fish, spinach, beans, raisins, and iron-fortified cereals. It is also recommended that you drink an extra/above-your-usual 16 to 24 ounces of water the morning of donation.
The next Morrison Community Blood Drive will be held on Thursday, January 19, 2023, from noon to 6:00 p.m., at St. Mary Catholic Church, 13320 Garden Plain Road, Morrison, IL. The sponsor will be the Women of Ebenezer Church.
Bring a friend, coworker, spouse, or neighbor! Feel free to contact me with any questions by phone 815-718-5117; text or call. I am on Facebook/Facebook Messenger.
Have a blessed holiday season, and please stay safe!