Recent Community Blood Services Blood Drive Reaches Its Goal

The Atwood Community Blood Drive held on Saturday, Aug. 22, was a big success and reached its goal of 15 units.

By Doris Elmore
Staff Writer

The Atwood Community Blood Drive held on Saturday, Aug. 22, was a big success and reached its goal of 15 units.

This year the blood drive was sponsored by Mackenzi Bowles to raise awareness for Kawasaki Disease.

Mackenzi is the daughter of Jami and Ryan Bowles and contracted the disease when she was young. She was released from the hospital on Easter Sunday, her 2nd birthday, in 2005.

This blood drive is normally held during the Apple Dumpling Festival.

According to information from Quentin Spannagel, Associate Donor Relations Consultant for Community Blood Services of Illinois, each unit collected has the capacity to save three (3) lives. It is broken down as red blood cells, platelets and plasma. The blood goes to one of the hospitals in their service area.

Spannagel says they are now looking for people who have had COVID and recovered because the plasma contains the COVID antibodies. Donors are acceptable both for convalescent plasma and standard volunteer blood donations at 28+ days after recovery from COVID-19 if all other health and screening criteria are met. Convalescent plasma will only be collected from donors who had a positive molecular test (also called PCR or polymerase chain reaction) showing they had a COVID-19 infection.

Community Blood Services of Illinois is a part of Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center (MVRBC). This blood center will collect plasma donations from patients who have recovered from a COVID-19 infection to help newly diagnosed patients fight the disease.

If you, or someone you know, has had COVID-19 and recovered, please go online to bloodcenter.org for more information.