We were reminded this week by Vitalant that January is National Blood Donor Month, but also that blood and blood donors are historically in short supply this time of year.

Please, volunteer and give if you can, now and throughout the year.

In fact, Vitalant is asking people to make it a New Year’s resolution to donate three times in 2020.

“If all donors committed to donating three times a year, shortages as we know them would be a thing of the past,” the organization stated in a message pointing out the current shortage.

Vitalant was projected to be down 560 donations for December across North Dakota, South Dakota and western Minnesota. This drop in donations is not just being felt in our area – it is felt across the country during the winter months.

According to Vitalant, about 38% of the population is eligible to donate blood. However, only 10% of eligible individuals donate annually.

Some other interesting facts about Vitalant and the blood supply:

– About 35 percent of Vitalant’s donors are students; when students are on vacation and home with family, blood donation is not top of mind and often forgotten. This makes it very important to increase donors before and during this high-need time to maintain a safe blood supply.

– Vitalant is the only blood provider to nearly 70 hospitals across the Dakotas and western Minnesota. They require at least 250 donors each day to meet the needs of patients at those hospitals.

– About 30 percent of Vitalant’s blood supply goes to cancer patients.

– One in seven people entering the hospital will need blood. Those relying on blood in the region receive that life-transforming blood from Vitalant.

Here is what else one needs to know to help:

Donors can make a convenient appointment to give blood at www.vitalant.org or by calling (877)25-VITAL or (877)258-4825. With each donation, donors receive a free total cholesterol test.

Blood donation takes about an hour from check-in to refreshments. Donors can save about 20 minutes by completing their Fast Track Health History the day they donate on www.vitalant.org.

Again, give if you can. It would mean so much to the recipients and their families.