iHeartMedia Sacramento & Vitalant are teaming up to save lives this summer when there is an urgent need for blood donors. Join us Thursday, June 24 & Friday, June 25 from 12pm to 6pm at the Marketplace at Birdcage - 6177 Sunrise Blvd. Citrus Heights, CA 95610 (Previously the Men’s Warehouse location)
While our busy lives are making a comeback, it remains critical to patients who rely on blood transfusions that community members donate blood even as life returns to normal. Hospital blood usage has returned to pre-pandemic levels, but the number of blood donations hasn’t. We urgently need donors to schedule and keep their donation appointment.
Vitalant follows the safety recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Donors can visit Vitalant.org/COVID-FAQs to learn more about collecting lifesaving blood products while keeping donors and staff safe.
Donation Appointments: To schedule your appointment, go to https://vitalant.org/iheartmediasacramento or call 877-258-4825.
Our 2nd annual iHeartMedia Sacramento Blood Drive comes at a critical time! During the summer, blood donations tend to decline due to increased activities and vacations yet the need for blood products for patients does not take a vacation.
Annual blood drive events like this helps ensure that the blood that is needed during the summer is always available for patients in need. And all donors will receive a California Blood Donor T-shirt
Vitalant has an urgent need for blood, platelet or plasma donations to address a drop in donations and meet both emergency and routine patient needs.
On average, donors give several thousand fewer donations during the summer compared to the rest of the year, but the need for lifesaving blood transfusions remains steady.
Vitalant must collect about 5,300 blood, platelet and plasma donations every day for approximately 900 hospital partners and their patients coast-to-coast.
All blood types are needed to ensure a safe and ready supply, especially type O blood. • Type O is the most transfused blood type and O-negative is what emergency room personnel reach for when there isn’t time to determine a patient’s blood type.
Type O donors can maximize their impact by giving a Power Red donation when two units of red cells are given, and other blood components are safely and comfortably returned to the donor.
There is no waiting period to give blood after receiving an FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccine. Donors who have received a COVID-19 vaccine are eligible to give blood, platelets or plasma if they meet all general blood donation eligibility requirements.
In Northern California Vitalant must collect 750 blood donations per day to meet patients’ transfusion needs.
Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs a blood transfusion.
Every day in the U.S., patients in hospitals, surgical centers and emergency treatment facilities need approximately:
36,000 units of red blood cells
7,000 units of platelets
10,000 units of plasma
Blood is used for a variety of patients including cancer patients, newborn babies, sickle cell patients, organ transplants, open heart surgeries, emergency and trauma situations and many more.
To prepare for donations -
Please bring a pictured ID with you to your donation and eat a hearty meal and drink plenty of water prior to your donation.
If you are on any medications or have traveled outside of the country that does not necessarily mean that you cannot donate! Bring with you to your donation the names of your medications and why you are on them and know the locations of where you traveled outside of the country.
All Vitalant blood drives and donation centers follow strict protocols to ensure the safety of donors, volunteers, patients and staff, including social distancing and cleaning protocols.
Vitalant requires masks for donors where mandated by state or local jurisdiction or blood drive site. Per CDC guidance, masks are otherwise not required for those fully vaccinated.
We know mask mandates for vaccinated individuals may change in California as of June 15 but bring a mask just in case.
Vitalant requires donors or guests who have not been fully vaccinated wear a mask or other reasonable cloth-based face covering.
At this time, Vitalant staff continue to wear masks regardless of vaccination status.