LONDONDERRY — With the number of blood donors decreasing, every pint counts.
The American Red Cross is conducting a blood drive on May 13 from 1 to 6 p.m. at the Church of the King in Londonderry.
The blood drive is one of about four to five drives that the Red Cross conducts daily in New Hampshire.
"We're hoping to collect 40 productive pints (from this drive), and one pint of blood can help up to three people," said Paul Bergeron, a blood service representative for the New England Region of the American Red Cross, based in Manchester.
According to Bergeron, the number of donors is decreasing because the number of those eligible to donate is decreasing. He said with people traveling more frequently to different countries, they run a higher risk of catching a foreign disease or virus like malaria. Such illnesses disqualify potential donors. Another factor in the decrease of donors is an increasing number of young people getting tattoos, said Bergeron. Anyone getting a tattoo is disqualified from giving blood for 12 months.
Bergeron said the Red Cross needs to collect an average of 255 pints daily in the state, but the amount of blood they get from this area depends on the size of the drive, based on what they are looking for on a particular day.
Blood donated can help premature babies, accident victims and cancer patients on the road to recovery.
Most of the blood donated at local drives stays in the New England area hospitals, but in certain occasions some of the blood would get shipped around the country, said Bergeron.
"The blood staying in this area depends on the need. Sometimes we are exporter or importer based on what are our particular needs or other needs of an area. If we are running short, then we import blood from another center in the region," he said.
Bergeron said the local Red Cross sent blood to California during the wildfires two years ago.
"We were collecting a lot of blood at that time and sending it to California because what was going on over there," he said. "A lot of places used for blood collecting were being used for rescue efforts."
For a donor to give blood, he/she must be at least 17 years old, 110 pounds, and have good health on the day of donation. There are more requirements, but those are the basics.
A donor should drink a lot of water and eat food rich in iron like raisins, red meat, peanut butter and fish, according to Bergeron.
"You should start hydrating three days before your donation," he said. "The key is hydrating. A lot of people are (disqualified) because they don't have enough iron in their blood."
The Red Cross is also having another blood drive today (April 25) at St. Jude's Church in Londonderry from 1 to 7 p.m. That blood drive will be sponsored by the Knights of Columbus No. 6949.
