“I’d say this semester we’ve seen a 40 percent increase of new donors, mainly freshman,” said Jeri Garza, the Blood Mobile’s Registered Nurse.
The Blood Bank has been coming to campus for over ten years and has been serving the community since 1951. Twice a week, the Blood Mobile is on campus four to five hours at a time, drawing student, staff and faculty blood.
Over 20 percent of blood donated to the Northern California Community Blood Bank is donated from local Humboldt schools. “The blood is then used locally in the hospitals here in Humboldt and Del Norte County,” Garza said.
David Writanen, junior Ecological Restoration major, has experienced the positive affects of blood donation firsthand. “I had brain surgery when I was young and used a lot of blood, so I always try and donate twice a year to give back,” Writanen said. He has been donating blood for over 30 years and began donating at HSU as soon as he transferred here.
Johnny Carlson, senior Zoology major, began donating blood eight years ago, while he was still in high school. “I’m not using the blood,” he said. “Somebody else will.” Carlson has become a regular at the Blood Mobile. It only takes him about thirty minutes to donate.
It used to take much longer for donors back in 1950, when donors had to wait by a telephone during surgeries in case they were needed. Local physicians decided to step in and find an efficient way to store blood for both counties, Humboldt and Del Norte.
The three physicians formed a community blood bank at the Eureka Elks Lodge and raised money with the Elks to start the Humboldt Del Norte Blood Bank. With the increase of donors over the years, the Blood Bank needed a larger space and moved to its current location on Harrison Avenue.
Each day Blood Mobiles get an email list of what the current need for blood type is in the community. “Right now, the need is B positive,” Garza said. She also pointed out that there is a constant need for blood type O Negative, because it is a universal donor.
If you’re interested in becoming a donor click here to see when the next Blood Mobile will be coming to campus.
For more information, visit the Northern California Community Blood Bank’s website.