FAYETTEVILLE, NC – Jan. 6, 2022 – With available blood donation levels at a critical level, the Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Center is urging patients who have a scheduled surgery or upcoming transfusion to talk to their friends and families about directed donations.
“We want to advise people, if they or their family members know they will soon be needing surgery, or have a surgery scheduled at any hospital in the Cape Fear Valley Health system, please come donate now and do a directed donation,” said Blood Donor Center Manager Amy Fisher. “Some of these patients include those who are scheduled to have a high-risk birth, cardiac patients and oncology patients.”
Directed donations allow blood to be donated in the name of a specific patient to ensure that they have access to blood when they need it. To complete a directed donation, patients need an order or signed information from their physician requesting the blood donation.
“Even if a patient’s donors aren’t a compatible blood type, they can donate and their blood will be credited to that patient,” Fisher said.
Compared to ideal blood supply levels, the Blood Donor Center is currently about 75 percent short of available blood units.
“Critical supply levels mean we have less than two days of blood available,” Fisher said. “A few patients in need would totally wipe out our O positive and O negative supply with what we have on hand right now.”
Blood donors must be at least 17 years of age, or 16 with a signed parental consent; weigh at least 110 lbs.; be in good health; and have proof of identification. Blood can be donated every eight weeks. Further information about eligibility restrictions can be found at http://www.savingliveslocally.org/ .
The Blood Donor Center is located at 3357 Village Drive, in the Bordeaux Shopping Center. It is open for donations Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on the third Saturday of each month, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information on directed donations or other questions about eligibility, please call the Blood Donor Center at (910) 615-5433.