Blood Donations Needed!
Did you know you can save up to 3 lives with one blood donation? One in 7 people entering the hospital will need blood and all the blood donated at Vitalant stays within 30 hospitals in Montana and Northern Wyoming. You might even save the life of someone you know!
If you’re a donating newbie, Donor Recruitment Representative, Kathy Lowry, offers these tips:
- Make your appointment online or calling the number above. (Donors may choose to come to the Vitalant center or sign up at any public blood drive).
- Preparing for your donation: Eat well balanced meals in the days leading up to the appointment. | Be sure to drink plenty of fluids such as water.
- Day of Appointment:
- Complete the online health survey by going to www.vitalant.org/health. (This shaves 20 minutes off your appointment). Bring a copy of the page with barcode to your appointment or screenshot the page with barcode on your phone.
- Arrive at your appointment on time.
- Staff takes forehead temperature at registration desk and signs the donor in.
- Water and cookies, chips, trail mix, etc. are available. As a donor, feel free to ask for as much as you’d like.
- Bring your picture ID and hand it to the registration desk (this lets the Donor Care team know you are waiting. ID is returned when donor’s name is called.)
- Health history review, check vital signs and level of hemoglobin in the blood. Next comes the donation station.
- Donor is given instructions on what to do during the donation to help ensure a positive lifesaving experience.
- When donation is complete, donor will be asked to stay for about 15 minutes to be monitored.
- Donor is provided with written instructions regarding the coming days after the donation (coming down with a cold, etc.)
- For the rest of that day the donor is asked to not exert themselves or drink alcohol.
Originally printed in the October 2020 issue of Simply Local Magazine
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