From the Blood Bank of Delmarva Senior Executive Director Patty Killeen, Medical Director Dr. Bruce Sachais and Communications Specialist Anthony Prado discussed the state of their supply and ways they are looking to bolster their ranks of donors, drastically reduced by two years of COVID, shuttered schools and work-from-home. Once again they are falling short of the blood they need to supply the 19 hospitals in the state of Delaware, the Eastern Shore of Maryland and the Eastern Shore of Virginia they stock; they provide whole blood, platelets, plasma and other blood products they collect form local donors. The blood is used for trauma patients, deliveries and maternal care, and in the treatment of cancer and other chronic disease patients. They discussed Sickle Cell Anemia, the disease requires multiple, recurring transfusions which in turn, requires closer and closer matches from a more diverse donor group. We talked about the need for those donors and for younger donors, too; the average blood donor is older and more affected by COVID, bad weather and transportation issues. They asked for the 17 to 35 age demographic to begin to make the same commitment to give. We spoke about events and campaigns that drive younger and more diverse first-time donors, including their Blood for a Brew Summer Tour offering a pint for a pint, and their inaugural Dr. Charles R. Drew Blood Drive at the Boys and Girls Club in Newark with Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., an historically black fraternity. Social media is also helping them reach younger possible donors. They reminded us that it’s easy to give and there are very few reasons that could prevent you from giving. We also noted that if you cannot give, you can spread awareness AND host a drive for others to donate.
For more information about donating, finding or hosting a drive, go to www.DelmarvaBlood.org
You can follow them on all social media, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @DelmarvaBlood. You can also call toll free, at 1-888-8-BLOOD-8.
If your business or group is interested in hosting a drive you can also reach out to Ms Killeen at pkilleen@nybc.org