15th annual High School Blood Drive Challenge to begin next week

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Tiffany Asher, [email protected]

SWEETWATER COUNTY, WYOMING — WyoRadio and Vitalant are announcing the 15th Annual High School Blood Drive Challenge, which is taking place next week. Between January 23 and January 26, the schools and the community are encouraged to donate. This is a great event in which the rival schools go up against each other for a friendly, fun rival challenge.

“The 15th annual blood drive for this year includes 14 schools throughout the state. In March, there will be a state-level competition held in Casper,” Senior Account Manager for Vitalant, Sandy Thomas, explained. “We want to challenge the community in a creative way to bring people out to donate. I love working with school students and what better way to donate blood and bring the community together?” Thomas asked.

Vitalant serves thousands of hospitals in over 40 states. They work with many businesses, banks, credit unions, companies, hospitals, colleges, schools, and church groups to host blood drives.

According to Vitalant, “Changes in how people work, live, and play since the start of the pandemic created lasting challenges to maintaining an adequate blood supply. As many people continue to work remotely, blood donations at business-hosted blood drives are down by 50% in 2022 from 2019, a decline of 90,000 donations. Overall, the number of people donating with Vitalant has dropped about 20% in the last three years, while patients’ needs remain strong.” If you are able, Vitalant is looking for “new donors and those who haven’t donated recently to help end this shortage.”

About five years ago, Rock Springs and Green River High Schools collected a total of 702 pints of blood. Thomas is convinced that Sweetwater County can achieve this again. In 2022, the two cities raised 566 pints of blood, with Green River winning the challenge at 295 pints. Then in March, Green River High School was announced as the 2022 High School State Blood Drive Champions and received the Commissioners Cup.

“To challenge, or task Sweetwater County… they are just really eager to support their community here. Even the Denver directors are just in awe of this community,” Thomas added.

Not only those who are involved in an accident or surgery need blood. Many others require blood transfusions ongoingly.

Next week’s donation locations and times are as follows:

  • Monday, January 23, Noon – 6:00 p.m. Rock Springs Community Drive @ Bunning Freight Station
  • Tuesday, January 24, Noon – 6:00 p.m. Green River Community Drive @ Green River Recreation Center
  • Wednesday, January 25, 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Rock Springs High School (school admin and students only)
  • Thursday, January 26, 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Green River High School (school admin and students only)

During this time, Vitalant will have 23 collection team members.

Spots are filling up fast. For appointments, call 877-25-VITAL or log onto donors.vitalant.org. Walk-ins are welcome. Remember, when donating, please eat a healthy, low-fat meal within two hours of your donation and the day before remember to eat a salty snack to help keep your blood pressure normal. Don’t forget to keep hydrated.

To see if you qualify, check out the Blood Donor Qualifications. There have been some changes for 2023. Following the FDA guidance, those who have spent time in France, Ireland, or the United Kingdom are no longer permanently deferred from donating blood due to the vCJD (Mad Cow) disease.

Winners of the 15th Annual High School Blood Drive Challenge will be announced Thursday, February 2, 2022, during the Rock Springs vs. Green River basketball game at the Green River High School.