NORMAL -- As regions throughout the Southeast recover from the ongoing impact of Hurricane Helene's devastation, and others prepare for what is to come with Hurricane Milton, Central Illinois blood suppliers are restocking and preparing to help those in need.
"For the second time in just about two weeks, we're racing against the clock as Hurricane Milton is just heading right towards Florida, and also has the potential to cause catastrophic damage once again to an area that's already experienced a lot of damage," said Jayce Eustice, regional communications manager at the American Red Cross of Illinois. "Some homes might be facing now their fourth hurricane coming through that area in the last 13 months or so."
Eustice said the Red Cross is working to restock critically needed blood supplies due to the ongoing impact of Hurricane Helene, and encourages donors outside the affected areas to donate so that blood supply will remain stable in the weeks to come.
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The storm and its aftermath have led to the cancellation of more than 100 blood drives, causing thousands of blood and platelet donations to go uncollected, Eustice said. That means less blood available for blood transfusions, which may be essential to those with urgent medical needs.
"Blood donation is incredibly important. It's important year round, and especially in times like this, where we're seeing such a massive impact from extreme weather," Eustice said. "It's really up to people not in that affected area to be able to go out, roll up that sleeve and donate in order to help make up for people down there right now that aren't able to go out and donate blood and make that impact that they normally do."
The Red Cross operates through a national inventory, with the ability to move blood wherever and whenever it is needed most, Eustice said.
The Red Cross also has over 2,000 volunteers assisting in areas hit by the hurricane, with that number continuing to grow every day, Eustice said. That includes over 66 volunteers from Illinois who have been deployed by the Red Cross.
"It's an ongoing response, it's something that continues to grow as we see where the need is and we see the impact, and it's something that we'll continue to monitor as we see Milton come through and where our impact is needed following that," Eustice added.
Illinois State University students and other area residents lined up on the campus' Quad on Tuesday for a mobile blood donation center hosted by ImpactLife, which supplies blood products and services to more than 100 hospitals and emergency medical services in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin.
Asia Henderson, 20, of Joliet, a junior at ISU, was a first-time blood donor at Tuesday's pop-up blood drive. She said she's always been interested in donating, but she was spurred on by a recent project as part of her social work major.
"So, me and my friends were looking at this (blood drive). I was like, why not? Let's do it. Yeah, even though I was kind of scared at first," she said.
She added that she can see herself giving blood again, or even plasma, in the future.
"So, maybe I could work myself up to that," she said.
Henderson was also keeping her grandmother in mind Tuesday, sharing that she has had to receive blood transfusions in her life.
Kirby Winn, public relations manager at ImpactLife, said donors of all blood types, along with platelet donors, are needed daily to meet the demand of hospitals and patients. They are especially in need of Type O blood donors, as that is the most common blood type used for transfusions, he said.
ImpactLife is part of the Blood Emergency Readiness Corp., which helps blood providers meet immediate transfusion needs when faced with a large-scale emergency across the U.S., Winn said.
ImpactLife currently has at least a three days to 3 1/2 days' supply of Type O blood, and has set aside the allotment for a BERC activation if one is called, Winn said.
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Although BERC has not yet been activated for either Hurricane Helene or Milton, Winn said they are on call to be activated, and will continue to collect blood donations, as these will still be needed for cancer treatment patients; people injured in trauma where there's been blood loss; surgeries; or hemorrhages due to childbirth.
"They're not giving blood in Tampa Bay right now -- the focus is on evacuations right now ... but health care continues," Winn said. "Generally, hospitals are not evacuated because they're built to withstand high winds, and health systems don't want to move patients out of the hospital ... so the rate of blood donations in the affected region drops, but patient care continues."
Chad Sabin, community development advocate for ImpactLife, said blood through organ donation allowed his family to spend more time with his father before he died. He noted a continued need for blood donations for cancer and trauma patients.
"Blood is medicine, and it is completely vital to help not only our local hospitals ... but we want to try and get as many students as possible in blood donations as we can," Sabin said.
He said the organization recently formed an ImpactLife club on campus to increase the number of blood donations there, with efforts including recruitment, education on the importance of blood drives, and increasing the overall national blood supply.
Sabin said around 20 to 25 students were signed up to give blood during Tuesday's drive, and that a number of students also were helping out as volunteers.
ImpactLife's next drive on campus will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5, in ISU's East Vrooman Center, 215 W. Mulberry St., in the Escalante Room.
For first-time donors, Winn said the first step is to register. Before donation, each individual is asked a series of questions and given a physical screening for heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and the hematocrit (red blood cell) level.
The blood donation itself takes about eight to 10 minutes, Winn said. Afterward, donors are given time to recoup by drinking fluids and eating a snack before they leave.
"When someone comes to give blood, they certainly want to have confidence that it's going to be used, and we're in a timeframe now, with the potential for the weather element, to really affect blood supply in the Southeast, that we may be asked to support those needs," Winn said.
Visit bloodcenter.org to learn more about donating with ImpactLife.
Visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS to learn more about where to give blood or platelets.
Visit redcross.org/donate/donation to make a monetary donation toward food, water, shelter and support in communities devastated by the hurricanes.
Additionally, anyone who gives blood, platelets or plasma fthrough Oct. 21 will receive a $10 Amazon gift card by email, and will be automatically entered for a chance to win one of three $5,000 gift cards.
Visit redcrossblood.org/treat for more information.
Photos: Hurricane Milton moves through Gulf of Mexico
Contact Mateusz Janik at (309) 820-3234. Follow Mateusz on Twitter:@mjanik99
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