By Cinara Marquis
The Adirondack Regional Blood Center acts as the New York hub for blood donations, which means that it is the main supply to partner hospitals in the region. The center provides the necessary blood products that enable hospitals in the North Country to treat patients.
“Donating blood saves lives in your community. It helps patients survive surgeries, cancer treatments, chronic illnesses and traumatic injuries,” said Shannon Nutbrown, operations supervisor of the laboratory, blood transfusion and donor center at the CVPH’s ARBC.
In collaboration with the Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital, SUNY Plattsburgh will be hosting a blood drive in the Angell College Center from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 30.
The hospitals that the ARBC supplies blood for include the Alice Hyde Medical Center, Elizabethtown Hospital, Ticonderoga Hospital, Adirondack Medical Center, Massena Memorial Hospital and the University of Vermont Medical Center.
“Each community hospital can call our blood bank when they are low on blood products, and our blood bank carrier will drive the blood products to them that same day or the following, depending on how emergent the need is,” Nutbrown said.
Another thing that sets these hospitals apart from others are their hemobanks — blood vending machines. These banks store blood products so, when blood is needed, the hospital will send a request to the ARBC for a full panel workup on a patient to make certain that the blood products are safe to administer to them. After confirming the blood is safe the provider can punch in a patient’s secure information and be provided with the correct blood product for the patient.
“Donating blood is a generous act of solidarity that helps save lives and support those with certain illnesses,” Nutbrown said. “Every two seconds, someone in the United States needs blood.”
Maintaining a diverse blood supply is crucial to donation centers because some blood types are rare and tend to be found among people with similar ancestry. Your donation can help ensure that all patients receive the blood they need. Blood type is inherited, so often patients need blood donated by someone of shared race or ethnicity. For this reason, BIPOC donors are incredibly vital.
Individuals with chronic conditions like sickle cell disease, hemophilia and anemia often require frequent transfusions and therefore also benefit from diverse donation pools.
“We truly rely on our community to keep us going,” Nutbrown said. “There is always a need for blood and blood product donations.”
Nutbrown came into the role as an operations supervisor after graduating from SUNY Plattsburgh with a bachelor’s degree in both sociology and criminal justice. She worked as a medical supervisor at a school in Lake Placid and decided that medicine would be her focus.
“Blood donation is vital to the North County as we are such a small population. I grew up in the Adirondacks, and I like that fact that I get to work with the North County to promote the Adirondack Regional Blood Center,” she said.
To donate blood with CVPH, one must be at least 16 years old with parental consent, weigh more than 110 pounds and be in good health.
“Donating blood also benefits you. It helps reduce stress, improves your emotional well-being, can benefit your physical health, helps get rid of negative feelings, provides a sense of belonging, and reduces isolation,” Nutbrown said. “Donating also comes with a free health checkup.”
One must undergo a series of health questions and screenings to give blood. Nurses will check an individual’s pulse, blood pressure, temperature and hemoglobin levels as well as test blood for several diseases.
The donation process is rapid and donors will often be given an incentive. At the blood donation drive happening at SUNY Plattsburgh donors will be given a treat and entered into a raffle for a $50 gift card after donating their blood.
Nutbrown recommends all to drink plenty of water 24 hours prior to donation — one must also eat a full meal within four hours before their donation.
Including both platelet and blood donors, the ARBC sees roughly 9,000 donors per year. The Center hosts blood drives every weekday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Nutbrown said, “When you donate with Adirondack Regional Blood Center, you are suppling the CVPH blood bank which is extremely unique in the fact that we can sustain the blood needs of our community thanks to the generous donations of our blood donors.”
For more information about the Adirondack Regional Blood Center and SUNY Plattsburgh’s blood drive please visit https://shorturl.at/sg4sI.
