DULUTH, Minn. (Northern News Now) – Giving blood is one of the easiest ways to help neighbors in need, but once a donation is made, it enters a carefully coordinated system before reaching patients.
At Memorial Blood Centers, that process begins with donors like Jean Franckowiak, who has been donating for nearly 50 years.
“I can make sure somebody else is living or thriving because of my blood,” Franckowiak said.
From collection to transport
After blood is collected and labeled, volunteer drivers pick it up and deliver it to donor sites and testing facilities. Volunteer driver Brittany Barrens Markren is part of that network.
“I show up and pick up blood products and supplies that need to go out to the donor sites,” Barrens Markren said.
Once donations have been tested at a separate facility, Barrens Markren returns to Memorial Blood Centers to learn her delivery destinations for the day. One of those locations is Aspirus St. Luke’s.
Arrival at the hospital
When donations arrive at the hospital, they are immediately brought to the laboratory, where Jennifer Alaspa, the Laboratory Administrative Director, and her team take over.
“The first thing they do is safety checks to make sure that it’s safe,” Alaspa said. “Make sure that the shipment arrived here in their proper temperature.”
After the team confirms the blood is safe, each unit is scanned into the hospital’s inventory system, logged, and placed into refrigerators.
Constant demand
Alaspa said the need for blood is ongoing.
“On any given day we can give anywhere from 10 to 30, 40 units of blood,” she said.
Those units are used throughout the hospital, including in the birthing center and emergency department.
“You never know when you’re going to be the one that needs to have a blood transfusion,” Alaspa said.
For Franckowiak, knowing where her blood goes makes every donation worthwhile.
“It feels good, it’s heartwarming,” she said. “So whatever I can do, I do.”
Northern News Now will host a blood drive with Memorial Blood Centers on March 9 and 10 at Pier B Resort.
To sign up, click here.
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