JACKSON, Wyo. — The Jackson Community Blood Drive will be hosting four different blood donation days in the area in April.
One donation day will take place in Alpine followed by three donation days in Jackson:
- Tuesday, April 14, from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Alpine Civic Center
- Wednesday, April 15, from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Jackson’s Shepherd of the Mountains Lutheran Church
- Thursday, April 16, from 7:30 a.m. to noon at Jackson’s Shepherd of the Mountains Lutheran Church
- Friday, April 17, from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. at St. John’s Medical Center’s Moose Wapiti Room (in the basement)
Appointments are available and can be made online at vitalant.org or by calling (877) 258-4825. Walk-ins are also welcome.
“There is a continuous and urgent need for blood,” blood drive coordinator Jolene Moulder wrote in an email. “Donations have decreased by 35% to 40% over the past two decades, while 1 in 7 people entering the hospital will require blood. In fact, someone needs blood every two seconds. Blood has a shelf life of 42 days, making it crucial to have a sufficient supply on hospital shelves when it is needed.”
The American Red Cross says that approximately 29,000 units of red blood cells are needed every day in the U.S., and every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood and/or platelets. Nearly 5,000 units of platelets and 6,500 units of plasma are needed daily across the nation.
Always in demand, Type O negative red cells can be given to patients of all blood types, but only 7% of people in the U.S. are type O negative, so it is often in short supply. For plasma, type AB can be transfused to all blood types, and only 4% of people in the U.S. have type AB blood.
