Local blood saves lives

Mark Sheets of Thompson Falls knows how donated blood saves lives. At age 16, a roof collapsed on top of him and among his many injuries, his femoral artery was severed. He would have died if not for receiving up to 5 pints of donated, matching blood following the accident. Sheets has been donating his own blood to American Red Cross ever since.

“It’s sort of like my way of giving back,” Sheets said. “I’ve donated blood about 40 times since then. I try to give at least twice a year.”

He was one of many givers that gathered in the Thompson Falls gymnasium Thursday for the Knights of Columbus sponsored blood drive. The drive lasted for most of the day, and the goal amount of donated blood was 70 pints. People of many ages and walks of life came in and gave. Some for the first time, others for the second or fortieth, such as Sheets.

As Sheets lounged back in the chair, he calmly endured the iodine prep and then the skin-piercing needle into his forearm. “It doesn’t take long, this part of the process – the ‘draining,’ I call it. Just 15 minutes,” he said.

Sheets had also just earned his 5-gallon blood donation pin from American Red Cross.

“Of all the people that are actually eligible to donate blood, only five percent actually give,” event organizer Don Gratz said. “And of that five percent, an even smaller percent give again. Some people say, ‘I don’t like needles,’ but hey, nobody likes needles! Donating blood saves lives.”

Gratz then dispelled information about human blood at its donated value.

 “There are basically three uses of donated blood,” Gratz said. “They can use the white blood cells, the plasma, or the platelets. So, if you think about it, one pint of blood could potentially save three lives.”

American Red Cross reveals even more facts on their blood donation website. Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood. A single car accident victim can require as much as 100 pints of blood. In a single year, with blood drives established all over the United States, about 9.5 million donors give their blood; however, blood is still greatly needed. Especially that of Type O. The month of March has been proclaimed as American Red Cross Month, a tradition originally set by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Amidst all the tradition and statistics, American Red Cross still manages to reach people in the most obscure of places. Sanders County, Montana is no exception.

“It’s  been a steady flow all day,” Gratz said. “We’ve had people waiting to donate.”

Cookies baked by local churches were made available at a table. Sanders County Harvest Food store provided juice to donors.

“They’ve been so good, Harvest Foods,” Knights of Columbus member Paul Goetz said. “Every year, they’ve been doing it. I first started this in 2003 and Harvest Foods has always been willing to help.”

Community involvement further propelled the blood drive into success. The drive in Thompson Falls surpassed its goal of 70 pints and the certified phlebotomists hailing from Missoula and Kalispell branches of American Red Cross never had a dull moment.

The gymnasium was buzzing with conversation and laughter. People were happy to give their blood. One young lady, Thompson Falls High School senior Kristi Nichols, seemed nervous. Nichols was consoled by one of the staff phlebotomists, who offered her encouraging words as she finished up draining Nichols, who smiled broadly while simultaneously wincing as the needle was withdrawn from her vein. It was her first blood donation.

“It helped saved somebody’s life,” Nichols said as she held her arm over her head. “So I’m happy. I’d do it again, even though it hurt.”