Heather Leier, account manager with the Vitalant office in Minot, said the organization’s pleas for donors are becoming more frequent, but the blood shortages being experienced in the region are real.

“As our population decreases, so does the donor base. You see the boomers are aging out and unable to donate, but our younger population,” Leier said, “they don’t donate as regularly.”

“Since May we have seen a steady decline in donors, especially O- and O+ type donors,” said Tori Robbins, Vitalant communications manager for the Dakotas, Montana and northern Wyoming. “These are the most transfused blood types, so we need them to come in and donate to help restore the supply to a safe level. We are in a critical need for these blood types. Thousands of appointments need to be filled between now and the end of July to make this happen.”

Donors of all types are needed but Type O donors are vital to alleviating the shortage because Type O can be widely used, particularly O-, which is universal.

Submitted Photo Ward County Sheriff Robert Roed donates during the Battle of the Badges in Minot May 18-21.

The challenge in the summer is fewer people are available to donate because of competing activities and vacations, but patients’ blood needs don’t take a vacation, according to Vitalant. Increased travel and outdoor activities can lead to more injuries and a greater need for blood units.

However, Leier is convinced the Minot-generated blood supply could be much larger than it is. She compares Minot to the smaller Williston community, which hosts five drives a year and collects many more units of blood at each event than the City of Minot collects at each of the three drives it sponsors. This excludes the Battle of the Badges competitions between the fire and police departments, which are major collection events in both communities.

The discrepancy between collections in the two communities comes despite Minot having the region’s only trauma and cancer centers, Leier said. Those two entities use a large majority of the blood collected for area hospitals, she said. She noted an incident in which one Minot man alone required about 140 units of blood following a traumatic injury last year.

Leier said Williston’s secret to success is a strong base of organizations that support the community blood drives. Vitalant is encouraging Minot’s community leaders, businesses and organizations to also get engaged and draw attention to the importance of donating blood.

“I can see where we could get different organizations or businesses to even take the lead,” Leier said. “We could be collecting 150, 200 units every other month, on top of, potentially, up to 400 units with the Battle of the Badges.”

The need is not necessarily for more drive sponsors but for organizations to partner on existing City of Minot drives to increase turnout, she said.

A City of Minot blood drive is scheduled for Friday, July 24, from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. in City Hall. Vitalant notes it takes just one hour to donate, and each donation can save up to three lives.

To schedule an appointment, people can call 857-4753 or go online at Vitalant.org.

Leier said she hopes to increase engagement with communities in northwestern North Dakota in the months ahead.

“Sometimes it’s just spreading the word,” Leier said of donor recruitment.

Educating the public and sharing the story of blood donation in schools is a major part of Vitalant’s work.

“The education piece has been huge, but it seems like a lot of people I talk to, it’s that, ‘Well, I knew somebody, or I needed a transfusion when I gave birth, or I’m doing it in memory of my spouse or parent that passed away from cancer,'” Leier said. “People don’t look at donating as important until they’re personally affected by it.”

The solution is for community leaders to set the tone – and maybe encourage a little friendly competition,” Leier said.

“I just feel that Minot should be topping Williston and have the same amount of blood drives bringing in more units,” she said. She believes it’s possible when she sees people excited about donating at the Battle of the Badges and supporting their favorite departments.

“That’s always fun,” she said, “but again, it needs to be that way all year long.”