Amid Blood Emergency, Donors Encouraged to Give in October
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month – Donate Blood to Help Cancer Patients
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SANTA BARBARA, California, September 20, 2022 — Nonprofit blood services provider Vitalant has a blood emergency after its blood supply fell nearly 50% from the beginning of the summer and urges all eligible donors to make an appointment to donate and help replenish the blood supply.
All blood types are needed, especially the most commonly transfused type O. Emergency room personnel reach for O-negative when there is not time to determine a patient’s blood type, and O-positive can help anyone with Rh-positive blood.
Make a Meaningful Statement During Breast Cancer Awareness Month
During Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October, Vitalant urges eligible donors to band together to provide hope and healing to patients fighting cancer by giving blood or platelets. Cancer patients undergoing surgery and chemotherapy may require red blood cell or platelet transfusions. If fact, patients fighting cancer need more blood than those with any other disease, using nearly one-quarter of the nation’s blood supply.
Check Eligibility, Make an Appointment
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently updated its donor eligibility guidance and donors previously ineligible to give due to European travel and risk of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), also known as mad cow disease Review current eligibility guidelines and make an appointment to give by visiting vitalant.org, download and use the Vitalant app or call 877-25-VITAL (877-258-4825). All donors who use the Vitalant app in September to make their next appointment will be automatically entered to win one of five, $500 prepaid gift cards. Learn more at https://vitalant.org/app.
Upcoming Blood Drives in the Santa Barbara Area
Thursday, October 6, Goleta, Deckers Outdoor, 6601 Hollister Avenue, 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Thursday, October 13, Buellton, Buellton Medical Center, 195 West Highway 246, 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Friday, October 14, Carpinteria, Carpinteria Rotary Foundation, 1335 Vallecito Place, 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Tuesday, October 18, Goleta, Camino Real Center, 7046 Marketplace Drive, 1:30 PM – 6:00 PM
Tuesday, October 25, Santa Barbara, Trinity Episcopal Church, 1500 State Street, 10:00 AM – 1:30 PM
Sunday, October 30, Santa Barbara, Our Lady of Sorrows, 1419 Anacapa St., 10:00 AM – 2:15 PM
Sunday, October 30, Los Alamos, Los Alamos Valley Men’s Club, 429 Leslie Street, 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Donors can also give at the Santa Barbara donation center located at 4213 State Street.
About Vitalant
Vitalant (“Vye-TAL-ent”) is the nation’s largest independent, nonprofit blood services provider exclusively focused on providing lifesaving blood and comprehensive transfusion medicine services for about 900 hospitals and their patients across the U.S. Every day, Vitalant needs to collect nearly 5,000 blood, platelet and plasma donations to help save lives. For more information and to schedule a donation appointment, visit vitalant.org or call 877-25-VITAL (877-258-4825). Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
