503 donate during WWU blood drive

During the blood drive on the Western Washington University campus Jan. 24 to 26, the Puget Sound Blood Center registered 503 people to donate blood.

The blood donations collected at the blood drive are critical in order to maintain a stable blood supply for surgeries, medical emergencies, and for supporting patients battling life-threatening illnesses like cancer and leukemia. Western's blood drive has helped the blood center build back up the regional blood supply depleted by the severe weather of last week.

The blood center thanks the donors who took time out of their busy days to donate blood. With great appreciation to Catharine Vader of Prevention and Wellness Services and the Lifestyle Advisors for organizing and promoting the blood drive; An’dre Triplett, Scott Stilts, Ronni Olsen and VU Facilities for their assistance, and the volunteers who helped on the day of the drive.

Each weekday, 900 people must donate blood to meet the needs of patients in Western Washington hospitals.

The following patients are just a few of the many who have received blood from Puget Sound Blood Center in the past few days. The blood was available for them, thanks to blood drives like the one at Western:

• 20 year old patient: Liver/Kidney Transplant. Patient used: 12 units Red Blood Cells, 12 units Plasma, 6 units Platelets and 2 units Cryoprecipitate.
• 48 year old patient: Nasopharyngeal Cancer. Patient used: 17 units Red Blood Cells, 10 units Plasma 1 unit Platelets and 4 units Cryoprecipitate.
• 63 year old patient: Heart Transplant. Patient used: 22 units Red Blood Cells, 34 units Plasma, 7 units Platelets and 4 Cryoprecipitate Pools.
• 42 year old patient: Gastro-intestinal Bleeding. Patient used: 10 units Red Blood Cells, 8 units Plasma, and 1 unit Platelets.
• 63 year old patient: Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm. Patient used: 20 units Red Blood Cells, 14 units Plasma, and 5 units Platelets.

The next WWU blood drive is on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, April 17, 18 and 19.