Living Well 60+ May-June 2014

y Martha Evans
Sparks, Staff Writer
Kentucky Blood
Center (KBC) has
a unique reason for
finding this year’s unusually harsh
cold weather challenging. More
than 40 blood-drive cancellations
this winter, mostly because of the
weather, has left KBC more than
1,300 donors short.
In spite of all this, KBC has managed
to keep those who count on
them supplied with blood. Working
from four centers, plus vans
and bloodmobiles, KBC serves
more than 60 Kentucky counties,
supplying blood for 70 hospitals
and clinics. Two of the centers are
in Lexington; Pikeville and Somerset
are the other two sites. The
service area extends north to the
state line across from Cincinnati,
south to Tennessee, east to West
Virginia and west toward Marion
County. All the blood collected
in KBC’s service area is processed
and stored in a laboratory at the
KBC’s Beaumont Center. Processing
means separating the donated
whole blood into red cells, platelets
and plasma. If a hospital or
clinic needs blood, it calls KBC.
“The Blood Center has couriers
moving blood from where it is to
where somebody needs it,” said
Denise Fields, KBC’s marketing
and communications manager.
Hospitals pay KBC for collecting
and processing the blood.
Who needs blood? “Blood is used
in everything,” said Fields. Victims
of accidents and other trauma
are obvious candidates for blood
transfusions. Fields catalogs less
well-known needs: Sometimes a
premature baby needs a transfusion.
Any organ transplant requires
blood transfusions. Doctors
MAY/JUNE 2 0 1 4
Kentucky Blood Center is
a Lifesaver
Drop-in donors always welcome
routinely determine a mother’s
blood type and make sure blood is
available before doing a Caesarian
section. Cancer patients who
have had chemotherapy may need
help building back their platelets,
the part of blood that makes it
clot. People with bleeding ulcers
and sickle cell patients both need
transfusions. The list goes on.
Who gives blood? “[Donating]
hits all ages, all income brackets,”
Fields said. Men and women
donate blood in about equal
numbers. People 15 years of age
and under can not donate, but
16-year-olds can if they have written
permission from a parent. At
age 17, you can donate without
parental permission.
“High school kids are real good
supporters,” said Fields. “Collegeage
kids donate and are pleased
with getting a snack and a T-shirt.”
KBC has lots of blood drives on
the University of Kentucky campus,
she added.
Fields says there is no top age
for donors. “We don’t see people
from college to mid-30s. Then
they begin to come back to us,”
she said. She knows of a couple of
90-year-olds who donate.
Drop-ins are always welcome at
the blood centers or bloodmobile
drives. You can also make an appointment
to donate. A traditional
whole-blood donation takes about
12 minutes. Everyone gets a “mini
physical” beforehand. Attendants
at the centers or the bloodmobiles
take each prospective donor’s
pulse, blood pressure and temperature
and do a simple finger stick
to determine blood-iron level. Potential
donors are asked to fill out
a health questionnaire. You can
safely donate blood every 56 days
and you can donate platelets every
two weeks. Platelet donations are
done only by appointment and
take about an hour. The blood is
good for 42 days.
KBC and other blood banks use
friendly competitions to attract
donors. The Big Blue Crush, a
competition between Kentucky
and Tennessee to see who can give
the most blood, has taken place
the week before Thanksgiving for
26 years and counting. The sixth
Big Blue Slam – Kentucky vs.
Florida – was held the last week of
January this year.
Many different places sponsor
blood drives. High schools, colleges,
libraries, community centers,
gyms, churches, retirement
centers and campgrounds such as
the Kentucky Horse Park have all
hosted blood drives. Families host
blood drives in memory or honor
of someone. Fields estimates KBC
receives about 85,000 blood donations
annually. The biggest donor
in the area is Toyota, which hosts
three blood drives a year. Hosting
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a blood drive is simple, Fields said.
“The Blood Center brings all the
equipment. You just furnish the
place.”
For more information, call (859)
276-2534 or visit www.kybloodcenter.org.
Kentucky Blood
Center serves
more than
60 Kentucky
counties,
supplying blood
for 70 hospitals
and clinics.
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