For those who came to give blood last Thursday, an abundance of donors meant waiting periods of up to forty five minutes. This was good news to Julie Hart, a Red Cross donor recruitment representative. The event was a success, exceeding its collection goal of 40 pints for the day.
After their contribution, donors were served Papa John’s pizza and received a free Red Cross pin. The annual USM Blood Drive was held in the Woodbury Student Center and was sponsored by WMPG and the USM College of Nursing and Health Professions. Thursday’s drive exceeded the goal of forty pints with a total of forty four pints collected, but the drive was only one of many going on throughout the state. The Red Cross holds an average of five blood drives a day in various communities in Maine.
“We get to travel all over the state of Maine. I enjoy my job very much,” said Christine Sharp-Lopez, a collection staff nurse. The collection staff erects temporary donation centers on a daily basis. To meet the blood needs of Central and Northern New England, the Red Cross requires 320,000 donations annually. The collected blood is sent to more than 170 hospitals in New England to refill depleted blood banks. “We just added a mobile donor coach with four beds,” said Hart. The coach, also known as “the bloodmobile,” gives the Red Cross more flexibility in its collection efforts than it had. “We brought it right to Monument Square and had a blood drive on the spot. It was great!” said Hart.
“People always say the reason that they didn’t donate blood is that nobody told them about it,” said Hart. Donor recruitment is a challenge. If a group wishes to sponsor a blood drive, Hart must educate them about Red Cross procedures, find a suitable space and date for the event and help get the word out about the drive. Groups typically publicize the event with posters, radio ads, newspapers ads and recruitment tables.
“The Red Cross relies heavily on volunteers. All of the registration and canteen positions are filled by volunteers. Only the collection staff is employed,” said Hart. Those wishing to volunteer for future blood drives should contact Portland ‘s volunteer coordinator at 207-775-2367 .
Hart emphasized that people can donate blood all year round at Portland’s Red Cross Donation Center at 524 Forest Avenue, only three blocks from the USM campus. The center is open from 12 to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. On Wednesdays, all who donate receive pizza from Domino’s Pizza. The center is also open on Fridays between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., and on the third Saturday of every month from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Sam Geer can be contacted at [email protected]