March 12, 2023 Shannon Lukens

By Shannon Lukens. (Photos courtesy Vitalant.org)

Blood donors are needed because blood drives across the country have had to be canceled because of bad weather. Vitalant has a drive Wednesday afternoon, March 22, at the Latter Day Saints building in Steamboat at 1155 Central Park Drive. A second blood drive is at UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center the next morning, March 23. Make an appointment at Donors.Vitalant.org. Use Blood Drive Code 0234. Anyone giving blood with Vitalant in March is eligible to win one of two $10,000 prepaid gift cards for groceries.

Colorado Mountain College will also be hosting drives May 17-18, and August 9 -10.

Learn more and make an appointment to give at vitalant.org, download and use the Vitalant app or call 877-25-VITAL (877-258-4825). Visit vitalant.org/marchgift for details on the prepaid gift card giveaway.

Here’s more from Vitalant; Feb. 28, 2023.

Volunteer Blood Donors Needed to Reverse Prolonged Shortage

March donors automatically entered into $10,000 giveaway; groceries for a year

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. (Feb. 28, 2023) — Nonprofit Vitalant is urging all eligible blood donors to give in March to help patients amid a prolonged blood shortage, compounded by inclement weather. Cold, snow and other adverse weather conditions across the country canceled blood drives, preventing more than 1,300 donations to go uncollected in February alone, including more than 760 donations in Colorado and the surrounding region.

Blood donors who donate with Vitalant in March will automatically be entered to win one of two, $10,000 prepaid gift cards, to be used wherever accepted, enough to buy groceries for a year. In addition, all donors are invited to join Vitalant’s donor recognition program. With each donation, donors can receive points toward thank-you gifts redeemable online.

Type O negative Red Blood Cells in Hospital Services refrigerated storage.

March is also Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month. Those living with disorders including Hemophilia and von Willebrand disease depend on blood donations for their treatments to alleviate chronic pain and uncontrollable bleeding. Donors of every blood type are critical to helping patients for both ongoing and emergency needs. Type O donors are especially needed since O-positive is the most common blood type and O-negative can help patients of all blood types.

Upcoming Blood Drives:

Community partners in Steamboat Springs have been hosting blood drives since 1979, and we are excited for our upcoming Steamboat community two-day blood drive March 22-23.

The blood drive on Wednesday, March 22 will be held at Latter Day Saints Steamboat from 12:30 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Address: 1155 Central Park Drive. Donors can sign up here.
The second day on Thursday, March 23 will be held at the UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center from 8:30 a.m. -1 p.m. Address: 1024 Central Park Drive. Donors can sign up here.

Colorado Mountain College will also be hosting drives May 17-18, and August 9 -10.

About Vitalant

Vitalant (“Vye-TAL-ent”) is the nation’s largest independent, nonprofit blood services provider exclusively focused on providing lifesaving blood and comprehensive transfusion medicine services for about 900 hospitals and their patients across the U.S. Every day, Vitalant needs to collect nearly 5,000 blood, platelet and plasma donations to help save lives. For more information and to schedule a donation appointment, visit vitalant.org or call 877-25-VITAL (877-258-4825). Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Here is a Blood Donation Map, to locate nearby blood donation centers and to find qualified phlebotomists who can help with the donation process.

Blood Donation Map – Find a Phlebotomist Near You

Every two seconds, someone in the United States needs blood. From trauma victims and patients undergoing surgeries to individuals battling cancer and those with chronic illnesses, the demand for blood is constant and ever-present. Yet, the supply often falls short of meeting this critical need.

We hope that our map will make an impact in the lives of others in need of blood by:

Spreading awareness about the critical importance of blood donation
Eliminating the entry barrier of not knowing where to safely donate blood
Encouraging individuals to make a habit of donating blood