Northern Colorado Blood Supplies Critically Low – Donations Needed
Local blood supplies are critically low, and the officials at UCHealth Garth Englund Blood Donation Centers are asking the public to consider donating blood to help save lives.
A number of recent trauma incidents and serious illnesses have depleted much of the supply at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins and Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland. This comes at a time when the number of donations typically declines because of summer vacations.
What Blood Types are Needed?
Donations of all blood types are needed and important, however, the center especially needs donors with the following blood types:
- O blood types – both negative and positive.
- A blood types – both negative and positive.
- AB blood types – both negative and positive. AB plasma is especially needed for traumas and other emergency situations.
How to Donate
Donations also can be scheduled at either of Garth Englund’s blood donor centers in northern Colorado – the center at 1025 Pennock Place in Fort Collins or the center at Medical Center of the Rockies, 2500 Rocky Mountain Ave., in Loveland. Officials expect the need will be ongoing for the several weeks. Interested donors should call 970.680.8053 to schedule an appointment to donate sometime this month at either of these locations.
To donate, a person must be at least 18 years old (or 17 with a parent's permission) and show a photo identification. New donors must weigh at least 120 pounds and be in good health. Prior donors must weigh at least 110 pounds. Whole blood donations take 30-40 minutes. Platelet donations take anywhere from 45-110 minutes.
Donations Stay Local
All blood donated through UCHealth’s Garth Englund Blood Donation Centers stays local. It helps patients at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, Greeley Emergency and Surgery Center and Estes Park Medical Center.