SARASOTA – With the holiday season behind us think about stepping up. the Suncoast Blood Bank needs your help. “This is a very important month as every month is for Suncoast Blood Bank,” said Jayne Giroux, Director of Community Development at Suncoast Blood Bank.
January commemorates 40 years since Congress made the first month of the New Year National Blood Donor Month, and while the slow holiday season for blood donations has passed the Suncoast Blood Bank is still experiencing a shortage of donations.
“We’re still in a shortage situation, we had a lot of traumas over the holiday season” said Giroux. “We’re still trying to basically climb our way out of the shortage.”
Giroux says the blood bank is in crucial need of O negative blood. O negative is the universal blood type that is used until your own blood type can be matched. But the shortage doesn’t stop there.
“All the negative types are the more rare types. Especially AB, a lot of people don’t realize that people with AB blood, platelets plasma babies, newborns in crisis can only receive blood from those AB donors,” said Giroux.
Giroux says some trauma patients require upwards to 170 units of blood and a single gunshot wound patient may need as much as 70 units. However cancer patients are the main group of people that rely on those donations.
“There’s so many different reasons that people need blood and we just have to have it available 24/7,” she said. “You never know when you’re going to need it or when a love one is going to need it.”
Giroux says when donating blood you aren’t just saving one life you’re saving the life of a family. To find out where to donate blood visit the Suncoast Blood Bank website.
