Blood donations anemic

Nonprofit pleads for Port Angeles participation

PORT ANGELES — Twenty-five blood drive cancellations in King County make those coming up in Port Angeles even more important than usual, says the regional recruitment manager for Bloodworks Northwest.

“We’ve been drastically hit, especially with large employers asking employees to work from home” and thus cancelling blood drives, said Meg Hall on Friday.

Blood drives at a mobile unit are set at the Vern Burton Community Center, 308 E. Fourth St., on Monday and Tuesday.

Monday’s blood drive will be from noon to 6 p.m. with a break between 3 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. Tuesday’s drive will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a break from noon to 1 p.m.

Bloodworks Northwest, based in Silverdale, provides blood products for more than 90 hospitals in Western Washington, including those in Clallam and Jefferson counties.

“We need to collect 1,000 units daily to make sure the hospitals have what they need,” Hall said.

The cancellations “have the potential to affect the blood supply,” she added.

In a press release, Dr. Kirsten Alcorn, Bloodworks medical director of blood services, said: “Bloodworks would like to reassure the community that its policies and procedures have been developed to assure compliance with FDA, CDC, and other applicable recommendations related to COVID-19.

“All of our processes have been developed to optimize the safety of the blood supply and donors. Routine blood donor screening methods would be expected to reliably protect the blood supply because we routinely ask about illness and travel.”

There have been no reported cases of transfusion-transmitted coronavirus, and respiratory viruses, in general, are not known to be transmitted by blood transfusion, Hall said.

Blood donation takes about an hour from registration to post-donation refreshment.

Appointments for the Port Angeles drives can be made at www.bloodworksnw.org/donate/find-mobile-blood- drive#results.

More in News

Sue Ridder and husband Johnny from Vancouver, visiting relatives in Port Townsend, start cleaning some of the 13 Dungeness crab they caught in Port Townsend Bay on Wednesday. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Catch of the day

Sue Ridder and husband Johnny from Vancouver, visiting relatives in Port Townsend,… Continue reading

Clallam housing waiting lists long

Report: Increase in homeless over 55

Clallam, Jefferson counties each receive park maintenance grants

State funding will go toward repair, upgrade at several local parks

Traffic disruption set at Discovery Bay

Traffic disruption is planned on U.S. Highway 101 at… Continue reading

Jon Picker, airport and marina manager for the Port of Port Angeles, describes runway sections for William R. Fairchild International Airport on a diagram of the terminal area. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Fairchild upgrades completed

Ribbon cutting is planned for Dec. 12

Clallam County eyes changes to park fees

Public hearing on adjustments set Dec. 12

Rich Foutch of Active Construction, Inc., in Tacoma paints a line on the roadway at the new roundabout at Kearney Street and state Highway 20 for the placement of temporary stripes in a pedestrian crosswalk on Monday in Port Townsend. The temperatures have to be in the mid-50s to install permanent striping, he said. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Roundabout striping

Rich Foutch of Active Construction, Inc., in Tacoma paints a line on… Continue reading

Proposal to rename Sequim road put on hold

Rotary, city to consider other options to honor local Olympian

Researcher: Managed forests needed to fight climate change

Wood products can replace existing fossil fuel-based materials

Jefferson County updates fee schedules

Environmental Public Health up 6 percent

The downtown Port Angeles Christmas tree is surrounded by people during a lighting ceremony on Saturday at First and Lincoln streets. The 30-foot tree will stand at the Conrad Dyar Memorial Fountain plaza through the holidays. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Lit up for the holidays

The downtown Port Angeles Christmas tree is surrounded by people during a… Continue reading

tsr
Community Aid seeks support for Toys for Sequim Kids

Nonprofit helps hundreds of children with Christmas presents