Our presentation at Lincoln South Rotary Club on February 18 was Jami Kassebaum talking about Nebraska Community Blood Bank.
Jami started by thanking everyone for their donations. Clay Ehlers had his donor pin and Tom Hyde wore his recent t-shirt signifying their levels of blood donated. She also mentioned Shannon Booth and Channel 10/11 where they have held a number of blood drives.
Blood drives typically provide 50% of the blood. However, with COVID it was hard to conduct drives safely - with the social distancing and other protocols in place. Also, with many people working from home, there were fewer people in the work places so not as many would be able to participate. Drive events went from 15 per week to 4 per week.
Jami's job is to make sure that we have enough blood to serve Nebraska. She said that we need about 1000 units per week. The need is constant. Nearly 100% of the blood collected by the Nebraska Blood Bank supports the Nebraska hospitals.
During the pandemic the Nebraska Blood Bank announced a blood emergency a couple of times - that meant they had less than a 24 hour supply of blood available.
The need is constant - every minute there are 30 patients in need of a blood transfusion. The shelf life of whole blood is 42 days (some of the components have shorter times).
About 38% of the population in the United States is eligible to give blood but only about 7% donate.
Blood basics - the heart pumps the blood throughout the body using blood vessels; it moves oxygen and nutrients to the lungs and tissue. Blood clots to prevent excess blood loss, carries cells to fight infection, move waste to kidneys and liver to clean the blood and regulates body heat. Blood makes up 7%-8% of the body.
The life cycle of donated blood - the donated blood is taken to labs where it is separated into various components (Whole Blood, Platelets, Plasma, Red Blood Cells). The blood is tested to ensure safety along the way. It is stored in various locations that serve our hospitals until it is needed for transfusion.
Jami talked about blood types - if you do not know yours now, they will provide that information. They used to set up sites such as at health fairs but have not been able to do that as much with the health safety protocols in place.
O- is universal donor - donations can go to any recipient; helpful if they do not know their blood type
AB+ is universal recipient - can receive blood of any type
We discussed the eligibility to give blood. Jami indicated that they do not post the information because it frequently changes to reflect the current health environment. The conditions are controlled by the FDA. Recent international travel, medications, cancer, surgeries, or just not feeling well may be reasons you are not able to give blood at any particular time. Minimum age is 17 (16 with parental consent). A donor can give blood every 2 weeks.
To discuss eligibility, call their central phone number: 402-486-9414.
They do not accept donations for a specific patient. However, often there are drives "in support of xxxxxxxx". When you support those drives you can sign a card and those are delivered to the family of the patient.
BIO:
Jami Kassebaum is the Assistant Manager of Donor Recruitment for the Nebraska Community Blood Bank. Her blood type is A+. She has worked in a variety of roles with the NCBB in the last 15 years all in the Recruitment Department, which involves coordinating blood drives with local sponsors. Blood drives are vital to supporting our hospitals, and make up around 50% of the blood collected by NCBB and bring in 90% of new blood donors. In her current role, she oversees the blood drive program for Lincoln, Omaha and surrounding rural communities. Jami also oversees local the NCBB Advisory Board.
Prior to starting her career at the NCBB, Jami graduated from Concordia University-Seward with a degree in Health Promotion.
Jami and her husband have three children and live near Lincoln.