First time blood donor Kayla MaGee gives blood Tuesday morning. Photo by Liz Burke, WPRO News.
By Kim Kalunian, WPRO News
“Our blood supply is in good shape,” said Frank Prosnitz, spokesman for the Rhode Island Blood Center Tuesday.
He said there has been a major outpouring of donations in light of the Boston Marathon bombings Monday afternoon.
Thanks to previous donors, Prosnitz said they were able to send 200 units of red blood cells, 100 units of plasma and 30 units of platelets to assist the injured in Boston.
Today, the Rhode Island Blood Center was so overwhelmed by donors, they had to turn them away and schedule appointments for them to come back. Prosnitz is urging people to go online or call ahead to make appointments before they head to their nearby donation center.
“What’s most important now is for people to donate on their regular schedule,” he said.
All blood goes into testing for three days before it can be used. It’s the blood that was donated before the marathon that made its way to Boston-area hospitals yesterday, and now Prosnitz said they need to replenish their supply.
Prosnitz said there’s typically a higher demand for less common blood types like O negative. They’re also looking for Rh negative red blood cell donations.
The process of donating blood takes about 45 minutes said Prosnitz, who explained that the bulk of that time is spent filling out a medical questionnaire and having a brief physical exam. The process of getting a pint of blood drawn takes only 10 minutes.
For a full list of Rhode Island Blood Center donation centers and hours of operation, click here.
Upcoming blood drives are:
Wednesday April 17 – CCRI Knight Campus (9AM-2PM) Free Pizza!
Friday April 19 – Warwick Mall (2PM-6PM)
Tuesday April 23 – Kent Hospital (9AM-4PM)
Monday April 29 – Dunkin Donuts Cowesett Ave. (3PM-8PM) Free lb. of Coffee
