JACKSON, Wyo. — Jacksonites have two opportunities to donate blood this week.
The Jackson Community Blood Drive will be held on Wednesday, June 11, from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a reprise on Thursday, June 12, from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Both events will take place at the Shepherd of the Mountains Lutheran Church. Appointments are still available and can be made online at vitalant.org or by calling (877) 258-4825. Walk-ins are also welcome.
Donors are urgently needed, the event’s organizers say. According to the American Red Cross, 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 in the U.S.
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.
“Red blood cells have a shelf life of 42 days, but the demand for blood is unceasing,” blood drive coordinator Jolene Moulder told Buckrail previously. “We must rise to the occasion to ensure hospital shelves, including those at St. John’s Health, are well-stocked.”
