Area residents recognize and respond to the need for blood donations so LifeShare Blood Center-Texarkana can sustain its lifesaving missions.
Teri Jo Wisinger, center supervisor of LifeShare Blood Center-Texarkana is grateful that donors have not slowed down since the COVID-19 crisis kicked in.
"We still have the need for blood, that does not change," she said.
"We are in a critical situation nationally. Right now, the American Red Cross is running a campaign encouraging blood donation. Though folks may have a tendency to stay home right now, people are seeing the need for donation and are coming through our door. So we have been very fortunate to be able to keep up our efforts at this time."
Regular donors continue to donate and the campaign and current situation has brought new donors forth.
"We were afraid that being hit with stay-at-home instructions, the curfew and the like, donations would have dropped," Wisinger said. "But we are getting what we needed. And not just here at the center. The drives we've conducted at hospitals, sending out our buses and more, folks have showed up. We are both grateful and pleasantly surprised."
Wisinger notes that there have been a few changes, most notably platelet donation.
Platelets take a long time to gather, comparatively, but with patients who need them staying home, the need has gone down. But LifeShare does need a regular set of donors willing to donate them to ensure they remain available.
"We also are putting an extra amount of emphasis on sanitation, which we always do, but just adding focus," she said. "In the current environment, it is necessary for the safety of both our donors and our staff."
The center has been operating on extended hours for weeks, but donors have stepped it up so much they have been able to return to regular hours.
Donors such as Blake Maynard of Texarkana, Texas, enable LifeShare to make mission.
"I don't have any concerns, everyone is taking the needed precautions," he said. "If you are hesitating to donate, I ask why? If it is COVID, you should not be concerned."
Wisinger, who has been in the business 34 years, is appreciative.
"We are grateful to our donors," said Wisinger. "They are giving us everything we need, when we need it. They are still showing up. And we are checking them out to make sure they are in good health, for their own good as well as the safety of the supply."
LifeShare Blood Center needs 1,450 units of red blood cells, 134 units of plasma and 149 units of platelets a month.
Previously United Blood Services, LifeShare has 25 blood donation technicians, administrators and others to ensure this essential service gets done and needy people get the lifesaving substances they need.