Donating Blood Saves Lives
December 30, 2023
When Gretchen Papez, Director of Public Relations and Media for The Valley Health System, was born, she needed a complete blood exchange due to Rh incompatibility with her mom. Thanks to an anonymous donor, the exchange was successful and many subsequent birthdays have been celebrated!
Gretchen had been an occasional blood donor, but when the availability of blood for hospital patients was critically low, she decided to make a greater effort to donate and recently earned her one gallon badge — the equivalent of eight donations.
She takes advantage of the American Red Cross app to register for upcoming blood drives, answer questions prior to donating and — her favorite feature — seeing where her blood donations are sent. To date, they have been sent to three hospitals in Las Vegas, Primary Children’s Hospital in Utah, the Mayo Clinic in Arizona and West Los Angeles Medical Center in LA.
Different Types of Blood Donation
According to the Red Cross, there are several types of blood donation and some only accept specific blood types. They include:
Whole Blood: All blood types
Power Red Donation: O positive, O negative, A negative, B negative
Platelet Donation: A positive, A negative, B positive, O positive, AB positive, AB negative
Plasma Donation: AB positive, AB negative