Blood drives saving lives one drop at a time

By Kevin Schaefer |Staff Writer|

In honor of national blood donor month, LifeStream will be taking donations on campus Monday, Feb. 11 in front of the John M. Pfau Library.

According to the American Red Cross, more than 44,000 blood donations are needed every day.

The truth is that more than 500 donations of life saving blood are needed each day to meet emergency and ongoing patient needs in Southern California.

In fact, every three to four seconds of every day, someone needs a blood transfusion.

But, only about 37 percent of the U.S. population is eligible to donate blood.

Unfortunately, only 5 percent actually do so. Locally, in Southern California, only 3 percent of those eligible actually donate.

If you are a healthy person, meaning you have no infections, illness and no history of Hepatitis from age 11 or older, at least 17 years of age and weigh at least 110 pounds, you can donate.

If needles make you queasy then you can also donate money online to the American Red Cross or to LifeStream.

I spoke to Don Escalante, a Public Relations Specialist at LifeStream, and asked him why he thought donating blood is important.

“Gosh, I could go on and on… I think the thing that gets to me the most is that it can’t be created, it can’t be manufactured, it has to come from voluntary donors, and there are needs everyday in our hospitals whether it’s surgical patients being treated for cancer, accident victims, trauma victims, burn victims, prematurely born babies, they all need blood,” said Escalante. “And again, it can’t come from anywhere except ourselves, except one another, so that’s why I think it’s imperative that people are healthy enough and can do a great thing by donating blood.”

Your body quickly replenishes any blood that you donate.

A healthy adult can donate blood approximately every eight weeks.

Plasma can be donated as often as once a month. Platelets can be given every two weeks up to 24 times each year.

“Even though I am usually busy with work and school, I still find time to give blood. It makes me feel good knowing I’m helping to save lives.” said student Chris Haberman.

Blood donations help millions of patients in need.

To make the journey from “arm to arm,” every unit goes through series of steps and tests to ensure that it is as safe as can be.

LifeStream’s San Bernardino donor center is located at 384 West Orange Show Rd. and is open Sunday and Monday 8:30a.m. – 4p.m., Tuesday through Friday 7:30a.m. – 7:30p.m., and Saturdays 7:30a.m. – 3p.m.

To learn more about donating, you can log on to the American Red Cross or LifeStream websites.

The American Red Cross states “The need is constant. The gratification is instant. Give blood.”

Help save a life today!