Community members give blood during drive

PLAINS – Local residents pitched in for a good cause last week, donating blood to the American Red Cross at a blood drive in Plains.

The VFW Post #3596 served as the site for the blood drive as a medical team from Missoula and a group of local volunteers were on hand to run the blood drive and ensure the success of the event.

The Missoula branch of the American Red Cross Blood Services unit arrived at the VFW on Wednesday morning and set up to administer the afternoon event. The blood drive started at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 20, and ran through the afternoon hours.

The team from Missoula was at Thompson Falls on Tuesday afternoon, where the town’s blood drive was held at the high school.

According to Julie Kieckbusch Jones of American Red Cross Blood Services, each person who donates to the blood drive gives one unit or one pint of blood to the effort.

“We need 700 units every week in order to supply around 30 hospitals in the region,” Jones said.

Jones said all blood collected at Red Cross blood drives in Montana is sent to a lab in Great Falls, where the blood is tested to ensure safety. Following the test at the lab the blood is sent out to supply hospitals across Montana, often going to area hospitals near where blood drives are held.

There was a steady flow of locals streaming through the VFW hall to donate their pint of blood.

In the early afternoon Becky McKinnon and Sarah Moran of Plains patiently waited their turn and sat quietly reading through provided materials before taking their turn in the reclining chairs spread out across the room.

The Red Cross blood services units are based out of a few major cities in Montana, including Missoula, Kalispell and Helena, but they each cover wide swaths of territory across the state.

Plains and Thompson Falls host a blood drive approximately every two months.

The time period between blood drives can vary and American Red Cross policy dictates blood drives cannot be held in the same community within 56 days of a prior blood drive.

Jones said the summer and holiday months are the time of the year the Red Cross is most pressed to get people to donate due to vacations and travel plans leaving the blood drives with a small group of donators to work with.

Nonetheless, volunteers and staff work throughout these months to reach their quotas.

“We have committed to the patients and there is always a need,” Jones said.

On Thursday, Aug. 21, the Missoula based team took their equipment to Superior in Mineral County for another afternoon blood drive.

Volunteers are critical to blood drives across the state and Jones said a lot of credit goes towards the volunteers who organize the drives throughout the year.

The American Red Cross provides sponsors with marketing and organization materials and the sponsors plug the event throughout their communities with the hopes of drawing large crowds when the blood drive comes to town.

According to the organization’s website, for more than 60 years the American Red Cross blood services has been the primary blood supplier for the state of Montana, serving over 30 area hospitals.