Vitalant urges donors to give blood through holiday season
Organization encourages residents to give thanks by donating blood
– Vitalant is urging all eligible donors to give blood this November to help meet patient needs through the holiday season.
According to the nonprofit organization, a patient in the United States requires blood every two seconds, yet donations tend to decline as holiday activities increase. Vitalant is encouraging donors to “give thanks for their good health” and schedule a donation appointment this month.
All blood types are needed to maintain a stable supply, with a special need for type O and platelet donors. O-negative blood can be given to any patient, while O-positive, the most common type, can help anyone with a positive blood type.
November is also National Prematurity Awareness Month. Premature infants often experience anemia and require blood transfusions to aid their recovery. The National Institutes of Health reports that more than 80 percent of extremely preterm infants receive at least one transfusion within their first month.
To thank donors, Vitalant is offering participants a chance to win one of two $10,000 prepaid gift cards through its Shopping Spree Giveaway.
Appointments can be made online at vitalant.org, through the Vitalant app, or by calling (877) 258-4825.
Upcoming blood drives in San Luis Obispo County
- Nov. 1, Saturday: Morro Bay, Shoreline Calvary Chapel, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Nov. 3, Monday: Paso Robles, Cal Coast Beer, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
- Nov. 4, Tuesday: San Luis Obispo, Ernie Ball Guitar Strings, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Nov. 5, Wednesday: San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly, Dexter East, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Nov. 8, Saturday: Grover Beach, Oak Park Christian Church, 12 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- Nov. 11, Tuesday: Atascadero, Home Depot, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Nearly 100 community blood drives are scheduled in November, and donors may also visit one of four Vitalant donation centers along the Central Coast, including the San Luis Obispo center at 4119 Broad Street.
Vitalant is one of the nation’s largest nonprofit blood and biotherapies organizations, providing hospitals across the country with a safe blood supply, laboratory services, transfusion medicine expertise, and research. More information is available at vitalant.org.
