The Lions Club of Vergas hosted a blood drive with Vitalant on Tuesday, June 15 at the Vergas Event Center. The blood drive helped collect a total of 70 units of blood products for patients in need. 

A blood drive in Vegas recently collected 70 units of blood products.

A total of 66 individuals volunteered to donate blood and 56 individuals were able to donate. A total of 14 donors also came forward to donate Power Red Cells (2RBC) which collects two units of red blood cells while returning platelets, plasma and a saline solution back to the donor. There were four  people who volunteered for the first time.

Connie Breitzman  coordinated the drive and the Vergas Lions Club sponsored it along with others who assisted at the event, including: Pam Krieg, Dennis Bretizman, Mariann Hokanson, Mary Korman, Carmen Moore and Janelle Lotgen.

Living through a pandemic can lead to many uncertainties, although one thing we are sure of, is that the need for blood never ceases. Blood is only useable for 42 days, so a constant supply is always needed, no matter the season.

Vitalant is currently testing all successful blood, platelet and plasma donations for the foreseeable future for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. If a donation is antibody positive, Vitalant can produce convalescent plasma from it to help COVID patients, additionally the remaining blood components will help other patients with serious medical conditions. 

Antibodies are proteins within plasma that help fight off infections. Because antibodies are part of the body’s immune response and not the virus itself, antibody testing cannot be used to diagnose current coronavirus infection. Individuals must be symptom free for at least 14 days to be eligible to give blood. 

Learn more about finding ways to help patients during COVID by visiting vitalant.org/COVIDRescueTeam.

Donors can make an appointment to give blood at www.bloodhero.com or by calling (877) 25-VITAL. With each donation, donors receive a free total cholesterol test. 

Blood donation takes about an hour from check-in to refreshments. Donors can save about 20 minutes by completing their Health History Questionnaire the day they donate on www.vitalant.org/health.