Your blood donation is needed to save lives!

COVID-19 put a halt to many things, but it hasn’t halted the need for blood. Hospitals need blood to treat trauma and burn patients, premature infants, heart surgery patients, organ transplant recipients, and cancer patients, who require blood transfusions to recover, heal, and thrive.

In Western PA, nearly 600 blood drives were cancelled since April 1, due to the pandemic, and 19,000 anticipated blood donations were lost. Consider donating blood at an upcoming drive:

Monday, January 4 • 1-6 p.m. • Transit Building, Oil City
Wednesday, January 6 • 12 – 5 p.m. • Christ UM Church, Franklin
Monday, February 8 • 1-6 p.m. • Transit Building, Oil City
Thursday, February 25 • 1-7 p.m. • Cranberry Mall

Visit Vitalant.org or call 877-25- VITAL (877-258-4825) to save your spot. While all blood types are needed, there’s an urgent need for type O blood donations.

All blood donations are tested for COVID-19 antibodies. This will let you know if you had COVID-19 in the past—even with no symptoms—and help identify convalescent plasma donors. Donors whose blood tests positive for antibodies can help a COVID-19 patient with their plasma, while their other blood components could help additional patients. For additional information about convalescent plasma please visit vitalant.org/COVIDRescueTeam.

The U.S. Surgeon General and FEMA declared blood, platelet and convalescent plasma donation essential activities during the pandemic. All Vitalant drives and donation centers follow strict protocols to ensure safety of donors, patients and staff, including temperatures checks, social distancing, face masks, and sanitizing.

This article was published in the Venango Chamber’s January 2021 VenangoWorks! Newsletter.