SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — It’s an event that helps save lives one pint at a time, and on Tuesday it took place at KELOLAND TV.
Community Blood Bank is a collaborative effort between Sanford Health and Avera McKennan. The organization supplies blood products to local hospitals from Sioux Falls to Bemidji, Minnesota, to Estherville, Iowa, but it starts with you donating blood.
“It only takes 30 minutes of your time, but with that 30 minutes, three people’s lives in our community can be changed. You can provide the hope by just rolling up your sleeves,” Community Blood Bank Executive Director Ken Versteeg said.
Ken Versteeg is the executive director of Community Blood Bank, which brought a Bloodmobile to KELOLAND TV today, for the Donor-A-Thon Blood Drive.
“This is the shot in the arm that we need to kind of get us into that transition from fall into winter, and we’re looking for 120 donors today,” Versteeg said.
“If you understand the need and you understand your body’s ability to give it, I guess I don’t know why you wouldn’t,” Sioux Falls resident Stephanie Holsing said.
Stephanie Holsing has lived in Sioux Falls for more than 20 years and gives blood every eight weeks. She encourages people not to give up on the idea of donating blood.
“Maybe they’ve passed out before or had a negative experience, and oftentimes that’s just because of something that was going on in your body on that day or that week, and unless you have a condition that you can’t donate, try again,” Holsing said.
Community Blood Bank requires 550 units of blood each week to meet the needs of its nearly 40 local hospitals, meaning it’s a cause that couldn’t happen without you.
“If you repeat donate every 56 days or even two or three times a year, you really are making a big difference in the community’s blood supply and you’re saving so many different lives,” Versteeg said.
All blood types are accepted, but Community Blood Bank is currently in desperate need of O-positive and O-negative blood. If you would like to donate, there are events in Brookings, Dell Rapids, and Sioux Falls later this week.
