Letters to the Editor - Blood drives save lives

Several years ago, the Owen County Fair Board, Owen County Extension Homemakers and the American Red Cross came together to bring back a local blood drive in Owen County. That was five years ago, the fall of 2020.

In this partnership the Fair Board donates the space, the homemakers set up, greet and sign in donors and the American Red Cross provides the nurses and equipment to collect blood. Each year we hold six blood drives.

In 2024 we had 209 members of Owen County and surrounding areas come to donate, with 15 of them being first-time donors. Between these six blood drives, we collected 186 pints of blood.

Fun fact about blood: each pint has the ability to save up to three lives as a pint of blood contains red blood cells, white blood cells and plasma. What does 186 pints mean? Well, it means that 558 people had the potential to have their lives saved.

Since the beginning, we have had 53 first-time donors of the 913 donors that have come to Spencer to give a donation that saves a life. Those donations have totaled 880 pints of blood, with the potential to change upwards to 2640 people's lives.

Some donors do a regular donation while others choose to do a Power Red. The difference is that the Power Red donation is two pints of blood cells and no plasma.

This type of donation is every 108 days, whereas a regular donation gives both blood and plasma and the individual can donate every 54 days.

Each blood drive results in 12 to 13 hours of volunteering from these Indiana Extension Homemakers in Owen County: Penny Plummer, Rita Rust, Brenee Helderman, Bernadine Kay, Lee Ann Grey, Gloria Hoppe, Rose Richard, Stormy Caldwell, Liz Blake, Beth Eaton and me.

Working in pairs of two we have put in a total of 327 hours since 2020. We have come to know many of the donors and chatted with those who are our neighbors and friends. Occasionally we reconnect with a bygone friend of yesterday.

Our next drive will be held on April 4 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Open Class Building at the Owen County Fairgrounds on S. East St. in Spencer. You can call us at redcross.org – enter the Spencer zip code, 47460, to find the drive held in Owen County.

Robert White
President,
Owen County Extension Homemakers