Red Cross blood drive attracts donors in Plains
<p>Kristi Tranter of the American Red Cross prepares Wayne Rummell of Plains to donate blood.</p>
PLAINS- The VFW facility in Plains hosted a blood drive earlier in the month administered by the Missoula branch of the American Red Cross Blood Services unit. The crew of medical professionals travel extensively throughout the region gathering blood donated from citizens as part of the ACRs continuing effort to provide supplies to the nation’s health care system.
Approximately every two months, a crew from the ACR arrives in Plains to administer a blood drive. Wayne Rummel of Plains was on hand to make his contribution to the cause. Rummel waited in line for a few minutes before taking his place at the blood donating station. Rummel said he thought donating blood was an important act of community service.
“I come out just about every time they are here,” said Rummel. “It can help accident victims or people in a disaster situation.”
Kristi Tranter of Blood Services said donating blood is vitally important to making sure the nation’s supply remains able to provide blood to those in need. Tranter said turnout in Plains has been consistent.
“We’ve been really busy,” said Tranter. “We’ve had about ten people already this morning. Plains is an awesome community. There’s always been a consistent group of people that show up.”
The blood donated in Plains will be used as part of the larger nation-wide blood supply that provides products to 3,000 hospitals and facilities across the country. Tranter said the blood drives like the one in Plains are vital to keeping the nation’s supply at safe levels.
“Blood drives are really important especially in the summer when demand is high,” said Tranter. “In the summer people are more active so there’s a high demand for supplies. The blood we collect goes to transfusions or accidents or for surgeries.”
The American Red Cross is the single largest supplier of blood products in the United States. The ACR processes and distributes more than 40 percent of the blood supply in the country. The ACR Blood Donor Service was established during World War II for use by armed forces deployed overseas.
According to the ACR website, each year the Red Cross collects 6.5 million units of blood from approximately 4 million donors.