There is no substitute for human blood, said Taitia Shelow, marketing specialist at Central Blood Bank. The same statement is repeated all over the organization’s website:

“Despite miraculous advancements in medicine, there is no substitute for human blood.”

Central Blood Bank is hosting a blood drive today, March 30, at its location in Washington, Pennsylvania. Shelow said that donors at these events are imperative for all of the area’s hospitals and the wellbeing of patients as medical facilities rely on a stable blood supply.

“Your donations do stay in the area,” she said, explaining that Central Blood Bank is responsible with providing a lot of the blood products distributed to hospitals across the Pittsburgh region.

Central Blood Bank has 22 community donor centers, as well as several mobile sites across western Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia. Shelow said Central Blood Bank has become an institution in the area, and is dedicating to helping the medical community.

“We’ve been around a long time, and we provide blood products to hospitals in the area,” said Shelow. “And we just have a strong reputation for what we do. We’ve been doing it a long time, and I know we have a great staff that does their best to make everybody feel comfortable and make it as easy an experience as possible.”

But Shelow said that what Central Blood Bank does would be irrelevant if not for the donations that make everything possible.

“We just help facilitate it,” she said. “It’s really the donors who are the ones giving. That’s why we appreciate each and every donor—every school and college and workplace [that comes out].”

According to the organization’s website, “Central Blood Bank must see 500 donors each day to ensure an adequate blood supply for area patients in need of transfusions…”

Shelow said that every single one of those donations makes a monumental difference.

“We tell people a lot—and we say it a lot because it’s important—blood donation saves lives,” said Shelow. “One 15-minute donation can save up to three people’s lives. Every two seconds, someone loses blood…[Donors] are directly having an impact and they are people in the area; they should know the real value of their donations.”

At the blood drive, and any other day by appointment, volunteers have the option of donating blood, or donating just platelets. Shelow said either option has enormous benefit to recipients.

“A lot of cancer patients need platelets to keep them healthy enough to continue with chemotherapy,” said Shelow. “People can do strictly platelet donation…It takes a little bit longer, but it’s extremely helpful.”

For Shelow, working at Central Blood Bank gives her a whole new appreciation for the giving nature of people, and it’s a rewarding experience just to see it.

“It’s given me the utmost respect for people who donate,” she said. “It’s a really selfless act. They are giving their time, whether it is 15 minutes or 2 hours [for a platelet donation] and it’s really impacting someone’s life.”

For the blood drive occurring today, Shelow hopes the public considers that impact.
“[Patients] may not be able to thank donors personally, but they are very appreciative of the donation.”