The following article was posted in The Daily Sun/Venice Gondolier
VENICE — Of the millions of Americans, 60% are eligible to donate blood.
Of the 60%, only 3% actually give the “gift of life,” saving up to three lives with just one donation.
Jim Tollerton, a Sarasota County resident, has been part of that 3% for a long time.
Tollerton said his community service started when his three children were little and his church had the bloodmobile one Sunday, influencing him to use the opportunity as a “teaching” moment.
Since then, the former chairman of the Sarasota Memorial Hospital Board has donated more than 20 gallons of blood to date — potentially helping to save up to 480 lives with more than 160 donations.
Over the years, Tollerton became a donation regular at SunCoast Blood Centers, a Southwest Florida blood bank and supplier to Sarasota Memorial Hospital-Venice since its opening in 2021 and a supplier to the county’s surrounding hospitals for 75 years.
Tollerton prides himself on giving blood locally to those who need it most — a need that has risen to every two seconds across the country.
“I just think it is the community thing to do,” Tollerton said.
After donating last month at one of SCBC’s drives, Tollerton found himself wondering if people knew where it all went to.
OneBlood — Venice’s only blood donation nonprofit partnership that holds drives at Venice City Hall — ships all its blood donated to the Tampa regional facilities.
In comparison, SCBC’s Gulf Coast blood bank that hosts drive across the county directly supplies local facilities in need, including SMH-Venice and PAM Health’s Venice location.
When Tollerton’s concerns were raised to officials, city councilwoman Rachel Frank helped make a deal with SCBC to offer blood collection appointments at Venice City Hall for local use.
The added donation drive partnership will offer residents the chance to make a local impact and meet the area’s explosive growth, Frank said, and its need for blood.
Did You Know?
Though blood has a shelf life of only 42 days, a donated pint rarely stays unused for more than a week due to the volume of demand.
People eligible to donate can do so six times a year, saving up to 18 lives.
“We get alerts quite frequently from Suncoast and OneBlood saying that SMH-Main is running low, especially for certain blood types or extremely low levels, and that they’re days away from being out of certain types,” Frank said.
Starting in February, Venice City Hall will accommodate both blood banks, holding space for SCBC to host donation drives every other month.
City officials said residents looking to donate will need to pick one blood bank to stay with for donations.
Walk-ups and appointments are available on the website of OneBlood and SunCoast.
OneBlood will keep its regular monthly schedule at City Hall, Frank said, a for a good reason.
The city’s longtime partnership with the regional blood bank nonprofit gained more popularity when one Venice Police Department officer’s personal experience amplified the need for blood donations.
Venice Lt. Louis White said his 3-year-old daughter, Reagan, developed a serious kidney and renal system ailment that called for several blood transfusions to restart her system.
With Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital being the closest facility to meet his child’s needs, White traveled to St. Pete for Reagan to receive three blood transfusions over 16 days.
The living-saving treatment came from blood given by one of OneBlood’s regional blood banks in Tampa, a moment White said he’d never forget.
“Without that donation, I don’t know where we would be today,” White said.
White wanted to make the same impact at home, influencing VPD to host a special OneBlood drive, “Rally for Reagan” in Venice that produced 47 units of donated blood.
SunCoast is looking to make that same impact but closer to home for donors.
Don Campbell, SCBC’s chief operating officer, said the center holds a daily goal of 120 units to meet its hospital partners’ needs through a morning and an afternoon shipment to keep up with demand.
Kinds of donations
AB-type blood donors are urged to donate plasma, the liquid portion of the blood that carries clotting factors and proteins, which is used in emergency and trauma situations to help stop bleeding.
O-negative donors, or “universal donors,” are encouraged to give “whole” donations so all components can transfused to local patients, including red cells, plasma and platelets.
Nearly 25% of the blood bank’s supply is donated from high school students, Campbell said, which becomes “problematic” when holiday break decreases that number.
While snowbirds help make up some of the difference during the winter, Campbell said the No. 1 reason why donations lag where they should be is awareness.
“Believe it or not, it is as simple as no one’s ever asked you,” Campbell said.
Residents who are physically healthy and interested in giving will go through a medical screening, including a mini physical, and first-time SCBC donors earn a $30 gift card.
Depending upon a person’s blood type and type of donation, regular donors can receive anywhere from a $20 to $60 mobile gift card — a way SCBC has found to be successful in investing in and keeping more donors.
Kinds of donations
AB-type blood donors are urged to donate plasma, the liquid portion of the blood that carries clotting factors and proteins, which is used in emergency and trauma situations to help stop bleeding.
O-negative donors, or “universal donors,” are encouraged to give “whole” donations so all components can transfused to local patients, including red cells, plasma and platelets.
Special donations like plasma can be done during SCBC’s Venice blood drives through a scheduled appointment, which range from special blood types to people exposed to COVID-19.
SunCoast is one of only two blood banks left in the nation that are still collecting convalescent COVID, CP, plasma that contains COVID antibodies.
The plasma donations have helped patients recover from “significant levels” of the COVID infection, a project Campbell said saved his own daughter’s life.
People who have had COVID-19 but are not currently sick or had symptoms in 24 hours are encouraged to donate.
White said he hopes Venice can come together to help shorten the gap this holiday season.
“People should take time out of their day to do this, because it goes so, so far,” White said.
