With the weather getting nicer and schools preparing for summer break this is the time of year when blood donations hit a lull.
Kirby Winn, Director of Public Relations with Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center says the need for donors doesn’t dip so this can have a negative effect on the blood supply.
Winn says the primary factor in less donations is school blood drives not being held during the summer which he says accounts for about 10 percent of the donations they get.
“Young people want to help and… get started learning about blood donation and many continued to be blood donors throughout their lives.” said Winn. “That’s wonderful but it is a challenge for us – the fact that schools don’t operate year round.”
He says individuals, particular those in prime age and health for blood donating, tend to be more active and busy in the summer.
There’s also the matter of holidays like Memorial Day in which they are closed on a Monday.
But Winn says that about 10 to 12 percent of their donations come from school blood drives. “Even prior to the end of the school year, generally the school don’t want to have a blood drive during the last couple weeks… that’s the time for final exams, or – you know – blood drives are often held in the gym and that’s not an air-conditioned space”
He says they Mississippi Valley would get about 800 donors on a typical Monday across the region, so closing for a holiday is again costly for the blood supply.
To schedule an appointment to donate you can call the Galesburg Donor Center at 342-7646 or schedule an appointment online at bloodcenter.org .
