One Hour can Save a Life, Red Cross Encouraging Oregonians to Donate Blood

By on Monday, October 2nd, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News

OREGON – For the past several weeks, the American Red Cross have been reporting a major blood shortage following a downturn in donations over the summer. Most recently, the humanitarian goliath reported it would need an estimated ten thousand additional units of blood products (blood, platelets, and plasma) weekly to fill the deficit in the national supply and have been encouraging volunteer donations. Elkhorn Media Group recently reached out to the local branch of the American Red Cross to gain more insight on the shortage and what can be done at the local level.

According to Matt Ochsner, communication director of Red Cross for Eastern Oregon, Idaho, and Montana, the shortage primarily comes down to a few factors causing a slowdown in blood donations. First and foremost, the natural increase in summer travel, especially post pandemic, simply means that people have had less time to donate. With donations primarily being collected during scheduled blood drives, it’s never a guarantee that someone’s busy travel schedule would even allow time to donate.

Complicating factors even more was the active hurricane season preventing people from accessing blood drives in impacted areas. Hurricane Idalia in particular, which struck the Southeast U.S. in late August, caused a significant disruption to regular blood donations. Ochsner best summarizes the situation, stating:

“We saw blood donations drop about twenty five percent nationwide just in the month of August alone. We’re really encouraging people to come out and donate. We’d love to see some first-time donors come through the door.”

It’s the new volunteers that are the most crucial right now. While donations are likewise down in the Idaho and Eastern Oregon regions, Ochsner noted that a dedicated community of donors still persist in these areas despite the summer downturn. These regular donors are simply not enough to meet demand, both regionally and nationally. Ochsner clarified that the summer months do generally see an increase in demand for blood due to injuries sustained in outdoor activities and travel accidents, but again, the lack of donations is the largest contributor to the supply issue.

When it actually comes to donating, the process is fairly straightforward. For those interested in donating, simply visit https://www.redcrossblood.org/, type in your zip code and arrange an appointment at any of the blood drives that show up in your area. According to Ochsner, many people don’t donate simply because they’ve never thought about it or were never asked by anyone, something the Red Cross has been attempting to rectify as of late. As described by Ochsner:

“Donating blood takes less than an hour from start to finish and a single donation can save more than one life. If you think about that, you can volunteer or donate an hour of your day and walk out the door knowing you’re potentially helping save more than one life. That feels pretty awesome.”

Keep in mind that it’s not just blood that’s in demand. As stated, other blood products like platelets and plasma are needed just as crucially. Platelets in particular are often needed by cancer patients and even some cancer survivors. If the importance of blood donations was not made clear enough, Ochsner says it best:

“Every two seconds, someone in this country needs lifesaving blood, and that could be from an expecting mom to a kid battling cancer to an accident victim and countless others. It’s so important that people come out and donate. Blood can’t be manufactured. There is no substitute for blood. The only way that patients have these lifesaving blood products on their shelves is through the generosity of donors.”

Again, blood donations can be searched and scheduled online at https://www.redcrossblood.org/. Upcoming blood drives in the Tri County area include:

Union County

  • Thursday, October 19
    • La Grande High School
    • 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
  • Wednesday, November 8
    • Eastern Oregon University, Hoke College Center
    • 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
  • Tuesday, November 14
    • The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
    • 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
  • Wednesday, November 15
    • The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
    • 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Baker County 

  • Monday, November 6
    • The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints- Baker City
    • 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
  • Tuesday, November 7
    • The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
    • 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

For those that have donated blood and are looking to do more and or cannot donate blood and would still like to help, the Red Cross is always looking for volunteers, including support staff for blood drives. Volunteer activities can be searched at https://www.redcross.org/local/oregon.html

Elkhorn Media Group

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