Community Blood Bank [2-23]

Fun Facts regarding donating blood to The Community Blood Bank

By Stephanie Zylstra

HCHA hosts a blood drive every 3 months with the blood mobile parking at Faith Lutheran Church. Our last blood drive saved 42 lives with our community’s generous donations!

Only about 5% of the population donate blood and 8 out of 10 of us will require blood products in our lifetime.

The whole donation process from start to finish takes about 25- 30 minutes.

You can safely donate blood every 8 weeks (56 days.)

One unit of blood can save up to 3 different lives.

HCHA has a total donation of 751 units since we started hosting blood drives. We average 14 donations each drive with 26 donations being our largest amount and we’d love for this number to grow so we can do our part by saving even more lives in 2023.

Community Blood Bank (CBB) is a nonprofit cooperative of Sanford Medical Center and Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center, of which both are located in Sioux Falls.

This organization provides blood products including red cells, plasma, and platelets to more than 34 area hospitals within a 150-mile radius of Sioux Falls. In March of 1972, the board of directors of the CBB held its first-ever meeting and established the partnership between them and the two largest hospitals in Sioux Falls.  Their primary focus is on community improvement, and this relationship continues today.

CBB continues to serve as the sole provider of blood and blood products for many hospitals within its region with an estimated collection requirement of 550 units per week.  CBB remains ready to meet the needs of our community, it is not affiliated with any other blood bank organizations and takes pride in its self-sufficient operations.

CBB staff offer special thanks to local blood donors and partners for their ongoing generosity. The next blood drive is scheduled for Monday, February 27th from 1-5pm. As our posters around town will inform, you can schedule your appointment by simply calling HCHA at 275.3134 (ask for the lab) or by logging into www.cbblifeblood.org. and clicking on “Events.” Donors must be at least 16 years of age, weigh 110 lbs or more and be in good general health.  Thank you in advance for giving this some serious consideration!