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The BloodCenter of Wisconsin is trying to change that with a two-day blood drive that started Tuesday and continues until 5 p.m. today.
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Sarah Beier, Miss Onalaska 2008, keeps an eye on her progress as Blood Center Phlebotomist Andrea Johnson, right, checks on Nicole Kubal at the Blood Drive in the South Hall of the La Crosse Center. The drive continues from Noon to five on Wednesday.
Erik Daily |
The combination of losing donors from school blood drives and families caught up in summer activities is a recipe for fewer donations, Vanderbush said.
However, some like Cari Servais of La Crosse will give blood regardless of the time of year. Servais is a big fan of donating blood to the BloodCenter of Wisconsin after her mother was sick in the hospital in July 2006 and needed blood platelets. She said donating to the BloodCenter of Wisconsin ensures her donation stays at area hospitals.
The BloodCenter of Wisconsin is the sole supplier of blood to Gundersen Lutheran and Franciscan Skemp and several other area hospitals, Vanderbush said.
The need for blood at the two hospitals in La Crosse is strong, said Wayne Bottner, medical director of the blood bank at Gundersen Lutheran. It takes about 12,000 donors to meet the need for red blood cells for the two La Crosse hospitals for one year, he said.
People who donate at La Crosse area blood drives donate about two pints, or units, of blood for every three pints that they use from the BloodCenter of Wisconsin.
“There is a tremendous need in the community to increase the support of the BloodCenter of Wisconsin, where we get all of our blood from,” Bottner said.
It is harder nowadays to get people to donate, he added.
“People are busy and don’t have a lot of time. ... If we could donate over the Internet, we’d probably get a lot more people to donate. Unfortunately, we haven’t figured out just how to do that yet,” he joked.
The goal of the event is to get 200 pints of blood during the two-day drive. The BloodCenter of Wisconsin was well on its way two hours into the drive with about 60 pints, Vanderbush said.
KJ Lang can be reached at (608) 791-8226 or klang@lacrossetribune.com.
