The number of blood donors tends to plummet during summer months, and it’s even worse this year as life returns to normal.
DENVER — The number of blood donors tends to plummet during the summer months, but it’s even worse this year as life returns to normal.
Everyone has a reason to walk through the doors of nonprofit Vitalant, which collects and provides blood across the country.
Meg Deline said she didn’t have photographic proof with her that shows why she sits in a blood donation chair every eight weeks, but she has a story.
“My mother died of cancer, of leukemia, and she needed a lot of transfusions and stuff, so when she passed away, I decided it was time to give back,” Deline said as she began to get emotional. “That was 15 years ago.”
She said 15 years can sometimes feel like yesterday and that she thinks about the time with her mother that she could have lost without blood donations. Her mother received transfusions for two years while fighting cancer.
“It all helps,” she said.
Vitalant hopes others will help. Blood donations are down to a critical level, while demand is rising.
“We’re still seeing the impact of COVID-19. Businesses are still not having as many regularly blood drives as they normally would,” said Brooke Way, a spokesperson for Vitalant. “Its summertime, that means more people are traveling. It’s almost the Fourth of July holiday, so more people are on the roads. That means car accidents are increasing, those traumas are increasing, so we need to make sure we have enough blood ready on our shelves when those accidents happen.”
Vitalant asked for donors to schedule an appointment before going in by calling 877-258-4825 or by going to their website.
RELATED: VERIFY: You can donate blood, but not convalescent plasma, after getting COVID-19 vaccine
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