Quitman Rotary hosting lifesaving blood drive

The Quitman Rotary Club began hosting blood drives May 17, 2023.

Since that time it has collected 253 blood product units.

The next blood drive is Tuesday, May 20 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church of Quitman, in partnership with Carter BloodCare.

Each blood product plays a unique role. Plasma can be frozen and stored for up to a year, useful in burn cases and transplants. Whole blood and double red cells are stored for 42 days and are used in trauma and surgery. Platelets, due to their short shelf life (7 days), are in constant demand—especially for cancer and surgery patients.

Blood centers work tirelessly to balance supply and demand, ensuring nothing is wasted. Once collected, blood is tested – a process that takes about two days, reducing usable storage time. Expired units cannot be used or tested for quality and must be discarded.

Organizations like Carter BloodCare are at the forefront of inventory management. In 2024, the East Texas branch collected 54,820 units – 6,628 of which were platelets and plasma. High school students contributed over 20% of whole blood and double red cells. Non-high school mobile collections gathered more than half of all whole blood donations, proving that every community plays a vital role.

It takes over 1,000 donors every day to meet the needs of East Texas alone. A donation could be the one that saves a life when the clock is ticking.

Though 61% of the U.S. population is eligible to donate blood, only about 3% do. Advances in testing have made donations safer than ever, and many temporary deferrals have been shortened. However, some medical conditions – like HIV, hepatitis or certain cancers – still result in indefinite deferral.