How one blood donation can save more than one life

TOLEDO, Ohio — Did you know that a single donation of blood can save up to three lives? That’s according to Rachel Hepner-Zawodny, executive director for the American Red Cross of Western Lake Erie. And why she says it’s “critically important” to consider donating blood, for friends, family members, or even those you don’t know.

“They need those lifesaving blood products, sometimes on a daily or weekly basis, and we can’t manufacture blood. Blood has to go from human to human, so it is really important,” she emphasized.

One cool part of donating blood is seeing how your donation went to help someone in need, which is a feature when you download the RapidPass app, an app that tracks your donation. Everyone is encouraged to be a donor and she adds that determining which type of blood is most needed can be difficult, because “it depends.”

“Your Os, your O positives and O negatives, are your most universal. So when you’re in a situation, a trauma situation, your surgeon or your physician is going to reach for those: those O products, because they can be universally transfused. The more rare blood types are ones that are a little bit more difficult to identify those donors and make sure they’re donating on a more consistent basis.”

Hepner-Zawodny notes that because a lot of their donors are older, it’s important to get some new blood, as well. And if you choose to be one of those people, she recommends scheduling additional appointments, which helps keep up the supply.