When students leave for home and locals leave for white sandy beaches throughout the summer, the American Red Cross often experiences a sharp decline in blood donations. This decline is especially apparent in college towns like ?Bloomington.
“During the year, college and high school students make up about 20 percent of our donor base, so when school is out for the summer time, it becomes a real challenge to keep donating in the mix,” Lindsay English, the external communications manager for the American Red Cross, said.
English explained that, on average, two fewer people make appointments at each blood drive between Memorial Day and Labor Day. While two fewer donors per drive doesn’t seem like a big deal, it adds up to about 100,000 fewer donations across the country.
To prepare for this seasonal decline, the Red Cross hosts a series of blood drives in May. In Bloomington, the drives will begin May 16 and continue through May 30.
“We’re always trying to bring in younger donors so that they get into the habit of giving,” English said. “We have a lot of older donors who say that they started giving when they were young a lot of times because of examples set by their parents, so it’s a great habit to start.”
College- and high-school-age students are also able to participate in the Leaders Save Lives Program, through which they can earn scholarship money by hosting blood drives in their communities.
The drives will be held at the Bloomington Blood Donation Center at 1600 W. Third St. Those wishing to make an appointment to donate can visit redcrossblood.org.
People with all blood types are encouraged to donate, but those with type O negative, A negative and B negative are especially ?needed.
“Just one donation can be used to fill three different types of blood needs and can go to three different patients,” English said. “So that one donation could save three lives.”
