200 blood donors needed every day in Hawaii

WAHIAWA—Blood Bank Hawaii (BBH) says that in order to meet the needs of Hawaii’s patients, the organization requires approximately 200 donors every day. They reported that more than 86,000 blood components were transfused from the 48,000 blood donations given by volunteer donors just last year.

The major reasons people need blood are cancer, heart and blood vessel disease, disease of the gastrointestinal tract, and emergencies such as car accidents and burns. BBH says that a victim of an automobile accident requires 50 units of blood, while a heart surgery patient requires six units of blood and six units of platelets. An organ transplant recipient requires 40 units of blood, 30 units of platelets, 20 bags of cryoprecipitate, and 25 units of fresh frozen plasma, while a bone marrow transplant recipient needs 120 units of platelets and 20 units of blood.

According to BBH, in 1898 it was discovered that inherited differences in people’s red cells were the cause of many of the incompatibilities seen with transfusions. Four blood types of blood were identified. During World War I, when human blood was needed for transfusions for wounded soldiers, studies of how to preserve and transport blood began.

It wasn’t until World War II, however, that the development of effective preservative solutions made blood transfusions widely and safely available. There have been many advances since then, including the discovery of additional types of blood such as the Rh positive and Rh negative classifications.

Today, thanks to these advances, full utilization is made of nearly every blood donation. Elements of blood can be separated by centrifuge. Plasma can be preserved by freezing. Each blood element can be used to treat different diseases.

Blood is now tested for diseases it may carry, and any blood testing positive for a disease is destroyed.

Millions of times each year in the United States, human blood is required to save the lives of people suffering from accidents and disease. There is no way to manufacture human blood outside the body. That is why BBH plays such a vital role in Hawaii’s healthcare.

Wahiawa’s Leilehua High School (LHS) is holding a blood drive on October 27. BBH’s Bloodmobile will be in the LHS front parking lot from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. for community members to donate blood. Donors who would like to make an appointment can email Jennine Tosaka at [email protected].

For more information, visit http://bbh.org.

For a list of all Hawaii blood drives, visit https://bbh.org/makeappointment/blooddriveappointment.html.