Kaywyn J. Beswick, R.N./Morrison Blood Program Leader, submitted this report and photos.
The first American Red Cross Blood Drive of 2021 in Morrison, IL, was held on Thursday, January 21, at St. Mary Catholic Church, 13320 Garden Plain Road, from noon to 6:00 p.m. Thank you to the Knights of Columbus for clearing out the church hall the night before the drive, and returning after the drive to put everything back into place. They were Terry Hoehn, Jim Fisher, and Jim Prombo. Thank you, KCs, for your dependability.
We had 74 appointment slots, and all but three were filled the morning of the drive; by the start of the drive at noon, all appointment slots were full. We had five “1st timer” donors sign up, which is terrific! They were Mike Zurn, Joan VanderBleek, and three people (one woman and two men) who did not want their names published. The ARC is currently testing every donor’s blood for COVID-19 antibodies for free, through the end of March 2021. That is why I think that we had so many people come out.
Kophamer and Blean Realty was our sponsor for the day, providing the monies for the canteen. Those who volunteered to prepare the sandwiches were Lana Nugent, Connie Helms, Fran Norman, and Joan VanderBleek. Jim Prombo donated the juice boxes for those donors who wanted something more than water. The Morrison volunteers who helped throughout the drive room were Jim and Betsy Prombo, Cal Vandermyde, and Lorna Temple. ARC volunteers were Dan Ross from Colona, IL, and Pat Pendgraft from Sterling, IL. I am so thankful for all of the volunteers who come whenever I ask. They are really the reason that the drives go so smoothly.
Thank you to St. Mary’s for allowing us to host the drives at their church hall. It is not known when Morrison United Methodist Church will allow blood drives to resume at their church. Until then, Bishop David Malloy of the Rockford, IL, Diocese is allowing St. Mary Church to host these essential blood drives.
We had 14 Double Red Cell/Power Red donors, who give the equivalent of two units of packed Red Blood Cells. They were Dave Boyles, Tom DeMay, Cal Vandermyde, Thomas Rosenbalm, Mel Johnson, Dick Wieneke, Jim Fisher, Ken Stewart, Todd Thumma, Ron Shank, Dale Belt, and three people (one woman and two men) who did not want their names published as blood donors. We greatly appreciate the Double Red donors who boost our numbers over goal Three of the seven beds are shown filled by Power Red donors.
These fantastic whole blood donors came to give life-saving blood products (RBCs, Platelets, and plasma): Kevin Hook, Amy Oudekerk, Barb Imel, Jill Bramm, Randy Kuehl, Lorna Temple, Kent Stralow, Deb Adolph, Pam Shank, Carolyn Aiken, Evan Davis, Lisa Nice, Lyle Bush, Bryan Vogel, Ken Gooley, Chris Hawkins, Luke VanderBleek, Jeff Anderson, Larry Tichler, Brad Bielema, Debbie Wilsom, Derek Wilson, Darlene Hook, Mary Steinhaus, Stephanie Vavra, David Temple, Keith Wiersema, Kevin Medenblik, Megan Huffman, Dawn Huffstutler, Kelly Smith, Kirk Pfeiffer, Tim West, Sheila Sonberg, Chelsea Stuart, Laura Smith, Susan Gomez, Kari Forster, Nancy Shank, Connie Swanson-DeSpain, Brooke Newman, Joe R. Bielema, Jack Salo, Kaywyn Beswick, and nine people (two women and seven men) who did not want their name published.
There were several deferrals, a couple with low iron/ hemoglobin, but most from pulse rates too fast or diastolic blood pressures too high. I really think that the required face masks attribute to these elevated numbers, as well as an occasional higher temperature that causes deferrals.
The ARC goal for “good units” was 58, and we ended up with 74 units collected, which is 127.6% efficiency! This was a personal new record for me as a Blood Drive Coordinator. Whole blood units totaled 47, and Power Red units totaled 27, saving approximately 222 lives.
I was pleased to have my longtime friend and former ARC Staff Nurse, Debbie Wilson, right, on hand. We each wore Red Cross shirts and socks. Maybe that brought such good luck to this drive.
I am always so grateful for all the help to make the blood drives run well. There are never adequate words to convey my gratitude to all the people in the background, making my job easy.
I am so encouraged by all the stories of why folks give blood and what motivates them to come give us an hour of their time, to help save up to three lives.
You can share your story on the ARC website at www.redcross.org or call the 1-800-GIVE-LIFE phone number.
It was brought up about giving blood while receiving the two dose COVID-19 vaccine. I am happy to report that both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines do not inhibit you from donating blood. You can still give blood even when receiving these vaccines.
The next Morrison Community ARC Blood Drive will be at St. Mary Church, 13320 Garden Plain Road, Morrison, on Thursday, March 18, from noon to 6:00 p.m. The March canteen sponsor will be Bethesda Lutheran Church. Sign up online or contact Kaywyn Beswick at 1-815-718-5117.