Valley City’s Blood Drive Brings in 82 Volunteers, February 16th

Valley City, ND – Valley City community hosted a blood drive with Vitalant on February 16 at Grace Free Lutheran Church which helped collect a total of 86 units of blood products for patients in need.

A total of 82 individuals volunteered to donate blood and 73 individuals were able to donate at the Vitalant blood drive on February 16. A total of 14 donors also came forward to donate Power Red Cells (2RBC) which collects two units of red blood cells while returning platelets, plasma and a saline solution back to the donor.

Vitalant expressed their gratitude to Elaine Miedema, who coordinated the drive, and Grace Free Lutheran Church which sponsored the blood drive, as well as others who assisted with the drive: Shirley Bjornson, Kathleen Schierkolk, and Becky Schroeder.

Living through a pandemic can lead to many uncertainties, although one thing we are sure of, is that the need for blood never ceases. Blood is only useable for 42 days, so a constant supply is always needed, no matter the season. Winter has challenges with the threat of weather/travel and planning, but the winter weather is no wonderland for hospital patients who depend on blood to keep them healthy and alive.

Vitalant is currently testing all successful blood, platelet and plasma donations for antibodies to SARSCoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. We are providing an initial test, to help identify donors who could help COVID-19 patients by becoming future convalescent plasma donors. Because antibodies are part of the body's immune response and not the virus itself, antibody testing cannot be used to diagnose current coronavirus infection. Please

postpone your donation if you are feeling unwell or suspect you may have COVID-19. Individuals must be symptom free for at least 28 days to be eligible to give blood. Learn more about eligibility for convalescent plasma donation by visiting vitalant.org/covidfree

Donors can make a convenient appointment to give blood at www. bloodhero.com or by calling 877-25-VITAL. With each donation, donors receive a free total cholesterol test.

The next blood drive in Valley City will be Monday March 1, 2021 from 11:30 am to 6:00 pm at Stoudt-Ross Ford.

Blood donation takes about an hour from check-in to refreshments. Donors can save about 20 minutes by completing their Health History Questionnaire the day they donate on www.vitalant.org/ health