July 8, 2015 at 1:56 p.m.
Over 120 people donate at MASH blood drive
Over 120 people donate at MASH blood drive
By Kayla Thomason-
Vern Schaller, who has donated 22 times with the Community Blood Center in Rhinelander, participated in the MASH drive for the first time.
"It's something that I'm able to do and I feel obligated to do," he said. "It saves lives. It's something that I think everyone that can do it ought to do it. There's no substitute for it."
Mike Riley carried on a family tradition when he made his 18th donation recently. He tries to donate at the MASH event every year.
"(Donating blood) was a family tradition," he said. "My dad started it and I just kept doing it because you just can't get it anywhere else."
He encourages people to donate and said it isn't as bad or scary as they may think.
"Think about the other people that need it and go ahead and try it," he said.
By 3:30 p.m. 120 people had donated blood. The Community Blood Center's goal was 200 people.
"We've had a wonderful turnout and this is just a kick off to our summer," said Lisa Koeppen, interim marketing and communications manager.
"It's been great," added Lisa Purpura, Northwoods supervisor for the Community Blood Center. "(We) had a big crowd come in early in the morning so it's been a nice steady flow so it's going great."
Koeppen and Pupura said they are thankful for the community's support.
"It's a great event to promote what we do here," Purpura said. "We get great community support for the event. A lot of people come back year after year so it really helps replenish our supplies when they are running low."
Given that summer is a very busy time of year for most people, the number of blood donations usually decreases.
"The need for blood stays the same all year, but the donations go down in summer because people get busy with gardening and vacations," Koeppen said.
All the blood that is donated goes to hospitals in the Northwoods.
For those who were unable to donate Tuesday there will be other opportunities.
"We're hoping if people couldn't make it down today that they will still schedule their summer donation appointment," Koeppen said.
The process takes 45 minutes to an hour to complete. It includes filling out a questionnaire, a mini-physical where blood pressure and temperature are checked, followed by a blood draw that lasts 5 to 10 minutes. Those donating enjoy cookies and juice after the blood draw.
For those who would like to schedule an appointment, visit www.communityblood.
org or call 1-800-280-4102.
Kayla Breese may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.