Our nation always faces a blood donation decrease at the exact time when we experience an increase in the need for blood donations. As the summer closes out, that need has continued to grow across blood banks in every community. After receiving a clarion call, I reached out to the LifeSouth Community Blood Bank. Regional Manager Tionne Osborne joined us to speak about the challenge.
Osborne explains that you can give blood if you weigh 110 pounds, have a healthy iron level, and are over 17 years old. Sixteen-year-olds can donate with their parent’s permission. She goes on to share that they have offices in Lawrenceville and Alpharetta, along with the headquarters located in Dunwoody. You can walk in at any of these locations to donate blood.
Each pint of blood donated is broken down into “blood products”: whole blood, platelets, plasma, and others. Osborne shares that each donation saves 3 lives and provides a half-pound weight loss. It’s important to hydrate before and after donating.
I asked Osborne how she came to work in the blood bank business. She started as an intern with the intention of getting experience and learning something new. While there, they hosted a blood drive in hopes of matching a child with leukemia, and they were able to find a match that saved the little girl’s life. Osborne’s career path took a turn, and she is now a Regional Manager working on behalf of increasing blood donations in our communities.
For more information, you can visit a LifeSouth office or a mobile blood drive; go to lifesouth.org.
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