A blood donor smiles in a medical chair. Photo courtesy of Blood Bank of Alaska.
On April 12 a mobile blood drive will be at the UAA campus in the Gorsuch Commons. Students can sign up for an appointment through the QR code in this article, or by calling the blood bank at (907) 222-5630. While appointments are encouraged and make the processes easier, they are not required.
TNL interviewed Westley Dahlgren, who is a director of collections and recruitment for the Blood Bank of Alaska. He shared the importance of donating blood and recruiting new donors from the young adult population. As donors age they are more likely to experience medical complications that prevent them from continuing to donate. Old donors aren’t currently being replaced at a consistent rate.
“Everyday we lose donors,” he said. “Only about 38% of the population can donate, and of that maybe about 2% donate [annually].”
“Blood centers are struggling to get younger people to come in and donate, and Alaska is no different, and after Covid the dynamics of collecting blood changed dramatically.” Dahlgren said, in reference to struggles to bring mobile blood drives to local high schools, like the blood bank used to.
Donated blood has a shelf life of 42 days and donors can donate every 56 days. This leads to a gap in the amount of blood available — more donors are needed to fill the gap in the ratio of pints given to pints needed.
Dahlgren explained the process of collecting and using blood samples. Blood’s expiration begins from “the moment the needle goes into somebody’s arm,” he said. From there, it's a race to ensure blood is properly stored to prevent spoiling. Certain blood products, like fresh frozen plasma, must be made soon after donation, making the process even more tedious.
Once blood is safely stored, it’s processed and tested by the blood bank to ensure it is clean and safe for recipients. The organization is then able to send the blood to wherever it's needed. Hospitals and medical centers in town like Providence may have couriers who come and collect the blood directly, or get deliveries from the blood bank’s own courier.
Hospitals outside of Anchorage are delivered blood via planes. “Blood outside of Anchorage is sent, believe it or not, with Alaska Airlines — they’re a huge partner of ours as well. All the blood is stored in validated containers that can maintain a certain temperature for a certain duration of time,” Dahlgren said. Efficient and trustworthy partners are essential for ensuring blood makes it to its location in time. Dahlgren said that unused blood is sent back. For example, if a smaller hospital in a town like Nome doesn’t use blood before it expires, they send it back to Anchorage where it can be sent out to hospitals that regularly go through blood, especially in large accidents and emergencies. This helps ensure all blood is used and very little blood ever expires.
The process of donating blood is simple, especially if the donor is prepared. Donors should make an appointment and come hydrated, having eaten a good meal, and with their photo ID. There is a quick medical screening before, which Dahlgren calls a “mini physical,” and a questionnaire. Overall, the process should take well under an hour if all goes smoothly, with blood collection taking between five to seven minutes on average. “The phlebotomy [blood drawing] part of it is actually the shortest part,” Dahlgren said. After donation, donors are given snacks and/or juice for a brief recovery and then are good to go.
People don’t donate blood for a variety of reasons. If a donor is worried about medical issues or conditions, they should always speak to their doctor before donating blood. Some people think their blood type isn’t needed, or don’t know their blood type at all. The blood bank will test for blood type, and since recipients with different blood types are in need every day, no blood is wasted. Unused blood types can also be made into other needed products.
“There’s a need for every blood type,” said Dahlgren. He said one year, he tracked the blood types of approximately 1,100 high school aged donors from mobile blood drives to schools. “There was like six B donors throughout the whole year that donated that were high school aged,” Dahlgren said..
Another reason people don’t donate blood is because of anxiety or fear surrounding parts of the process. This is understandable and fairly common, and speaking with someone from the blood bank to better understand the process and what to expect may help alleviate some fears.
Blood donations are lifesaving and always in demand, so the blood bank encourages anyone who is capable of donating to do so.
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