Season of giving extends to blood donations
CAROLYN BOSTICK | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 3 months AGO
Carolyn Bostick has worked for the Coeur d’Alene Press since June 2023. She covers Shoshone County and Coeur d'Alene. Carolyn previously worked in Utica, New York at the Observer-Dispatch for almost seven years before briefly working at The Inquirer and Mirror in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Since she moved to the Pacific Northwest from upstate New York in 2021, she's performed with the Spokane Shakespeare Society for three summers. | December 12, 2024 1:05 AM
COEUR d’ALENE — Blood donors are being sought to help stabilize the supply for local hospitals.
A single donation has the potential to save up to three lives. About one in seven people entering a hospital will require a blood transfusion, according to Vitalant and American Red Cross statistics.
Audrey Lewis heads up Vitalant territories in North Idaho and Montana. She said the agency is looking to make sure there are enough donations to carry the region’s supply through the holiday season.
“So far, we've been fortunate to avoid significant weather-related disruptions,” Lewis said.
Blood donations are especially necessary for trauma and burn patients, premature infants, heart surgery patients, organ transplant recipients and people fighting cancer who require blood transfusions.
“In North Idaho, we also experience a drop in donor turnout, as many of our regular donors migrate to warmer locations during the winter months,” Lewis said.
Schedule a donation appointment or sign up to host a blood drive at vitalant.org or by calling 1-877-258-4825.
Vitalant’s blood donation center at 405 W. Neider Ave. No. 102, Coeur d'Alene is open seven days a week. There are several mobile blood drives planned in North Idaho in January.
Mobile blood drives:
Jan. 7: 2:30-6 p.m. Kootenai Health Bus drive
Jan. 10: 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m., Kootenai Health Ponderosa Tamarack Blood Drive 2003 Kootenai Health Way
Jan. 11: 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Sandpoint Saturday on bus at Super 1 Foods
Jan. 14: 11 a.m.-4:45 p.m. Bonners Ferry Community at LDS church
Jan. 15: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sandpoint Community at Parkside Church
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