“Replenishment blood drive” might be a phrase you’re familiar with, having heard or seen in a blood drive advertisement, but do you really know what it means?
A replenishment blood drive is a drive conducted in honor or memory of a patient to assist in collecting the 1,000 units needed daily for patients in the 26 counties served by Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center. Typically, these drives are held in connection with an individual who has recently used a large quantity of blood due to a medical condition, trauma, transplant procedure or frequent transfusions in conjunction with treatments like chemotherapy.
Usually friends or family of the patient will host the replenishment blood drive at a place of worship, employment or other community location. Donations are made to replenish the supply of blood that has been used by the patient so blood will continue to be available, not only for their loved one, but for other patients in need of a transfusion as well.
“Friends and family members often feel helpless when their loved one is in the hospital. Showing your support by hosting a blood drive can be a comforting and rewarding experience,” Director of Donor Recruitment Theresa Pina said.
Replenishment drives are commonly confused with direct donations, in which the donated blood is given directly to a specific individual in need. In contrast to direct donations, the donations made at a replenishment drive simply go into the community blood supply, to help ensure there is an adequate blood supply anytime a patient is in need.
If you would like to host a replenishment blood drive to support a loved one, please contact us at hostadrive@giveblood.org or 713-791-6670.
713-791-6670
One of our marrow donors shared with us a letter she received from her recipient. The patient is (now) a 13-year-old boy. He wrote the donor a letter – in pencil! – thanking her. In part, the letter states:
It has been rough for me growing up and watching my brothers play and I have to come in early while they’re out longer. I’m doing a lot of things I couldn’t do before, like playing baseball. I tried out for my school’s baseball team and made it!!! I was so excited because I was never able to play sports. I can rough house with my brothers and a whole lot more. I am in the ASK program with the YMCA, so I can regain my strength since I was kind of under house arrest after transplant. I see a personal trainer every week and so far I love it because we get to do everything the YMCA has to offer. My first BMT birthday is coming up July 21st and I would love to celebrate it with you, if that was alright with you. I would really like to meet you and maybe even have lunch. I am truly grateful. P.S. Do you love popcorn and fruit snacks because since my transplant that has become my favorite snack, and the BMT floor said sometimes people pick up their donors taste bud likings.
So sweet. And yes, we checked with the donor – she does love popcorn and fruit snacks!
You may have seen Brandon in our Commit for Life awareness ads on TV recently, talking about why Type Matters. He also happens to be the featured individual for July in our 2010 Commit for Life calendar. Read his story below, and consider sharing your own story of what Commit for Life means to you.
These days, you can find Brandon at a donor center every two weeks, but it wasn’t always that way. He first donated blood in high school to get out of class. “As I got older and saw the meaning of saving lives, I started donating more frequently and for the right reasons.” Now he furthers the reach of his donation by giving platelets, one of the most-needed donation types.
Want to share your story with The Blood Center? Send an e-mail to mystory@giveblood.org.
Look at this awesome photo collage! This came from our friends at the City of Houston Municipal Courts, a Commit for Life group that hosted a blood drive on June 28. Thanks to chairperson Myriam Varela and all who donated or attempted to donate. Groups like you help ensure our blood supply remains strong over the summer months!
Interested in hosting a blood drive at your place of business? Send us an e-mail: hostablooddrive@giveblood.org
Why do you Commit for Life? Hope Guidry-Groves, one of our marrow donor recruiters for the Be The Match Registry, answered that question for us, telling the story of how Commit for Life donors saved her daughter’s life.
Marilyn, age 4, before illness
“I am a very compassionate person. I like to help others. For some reason when it came to donating blood, I just “knew” that certainly someone else would step up and donate – so I really didn’t have to. I would see the media blood drive appeals and as an O-negative blood type, I would immediately feel compelled to donate; but then I would rationalize that so many others would surely go, that my unit wouldn’t make a difference.
“My whole outlook changed in January 1998, when our 4-year-old daughter became critically ill and was placed on life support. The doctors told us that she was very sick and it appeared that she would require one to two units of blood in the next 24 hours. My husband and I immediately left the medical center and drove to The Blood Center on La Concha. By the time we returned to the hospital after both making donations for our child, she had already received a pint of blood. There was not sufficient time for us to donate and have our units processed…she needed the blood that was readily available to her immediately.
Marilyn, age 4, during hospital stay
“Little did we know that this was only the beginning of her need. She ended up being in intensive care for eight weeks straight. During three of those eight weeks, she hemorrhaged severely and used over 180 units of whole blood, platelets and plasma. I am so thankful to all the wonderful donors who literally gave our daughter “the gift of life.” I often shudder to think if they had all had my same perspective that “surely someone else will donate”… If they had, Marilyn would not have had the blood readily available to her when she needed it most.
“I am happy to report that Marilyn is now 17 years old and doing wonderfully! I am so thankful to God and all the wonderful blood donors for helping to save our daughter’s life. I am also very proud to say that ever since that time I have been a regular blood donor. I am definitely committed for life! So much so, that I have been a Marrow Donor Recruiter for the National Marrow Donor Program’s Be The Match Registry for the past four years. Each day is a gift to me, because I get to use my life and my experience to help save the lives of others who so desperately need a life-saving marrow match and life-saving blood.”
Marilyn today, age 17
