Blood centers, expecting loss in donations, call on other regions to help fill supply

CEDAR RAPIDS - Blood donation centers in Cedar Rapids will be closed over the weekend due to the storm that slammed into parts of Iowa this week, damaging buildings and leaving residents without power for several days.

Blood center officials have tallied a loss of hundreds in expected donations as a result, meaning other donors across the service area will be called on to help fill the need locally.

'It's already a challenging time due to the pandemic, but we have always seen a strong response from blood donors when a community is clearly in need,” said Kirby Winn, spokesman for the Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center.

The Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center locations in Cedar Rapids will be closed at least through Sunday.

The building on Williams Parkway as well as the mobile blood collection vehicles were damaged in the 100-plus mile-per-hour wind speeds. Two trucks used to transport equipment also were damaged.

Winn said officials are monitoring the recovery effort, but considering the current circumstances with the lack of power, internet or cell service, the centers may not open on Monday.

The blood centers did not lose any donations on hand, as the supply not being used by hospitals is not stored locally. The Red Cross, for example, keeps donations at its Waterloo and Dubuque locations, which were not impacted by Monday's storm.

'We usually run blood drives at businesses and churches and the human services building,” Iowa Red Cross' Pami Erickson said. 'Currently there was a drive at a church in Cedar Rapids canceled because of the church's roof damage. That's how it affects the biomedical services here.”

Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center estimates it will lose at least 500 donations as a result of the storm due to the donor center closures and cancellation of other blood drives throughout the community this week.

In an ideal week, the blood center would typically collect more than 3,500 units every week to meet the blood supply needs in the region. But in the storm's aftermath, it's unclear how long the impact will remain.

The Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center projects it will collect approximately 3,200 units per week until Labor Day.

'We have messaging out to donors about the impact of the storm on the blood supply and we are scheduling donor appointments as a result of that messaging,” Winn said. 'I'm glad that our donor centers and mobile blood drives are operational in the rest of our service region, including Iowa City, Dubuque, Muscatine and the Quad Cities.”

Those interested in donating blood can schedule an appointment online with the Red Cross at www.redcrossblood.org or with the Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center at www.bloodcenter.org.

Comments: (319) 398-8469; michaela.ramm@thegazette.com