Education Matters | SunCoast Blood Centers: Live Here, Give Here, Save Here

By Tom Reese | December 2024

SunCoast Blood Centers is celebrating 75 years of serving the Sarasota region and its surrounding areas through life changing blood donations and clinical research studies. With the overall numbers of donations dramatically decreasing since the COVID-19 pandemic, they are looking to spread the word about how rewarding blood donations can be for both the donor and the community. 

As a nonprofit organization, its mission is to serve you — the individuals, families, U.S. military servicemen and women, and others who comprise our beautiful community. They achieve this by ensuring a safe and adequate supply of blood products, including pathogen-reduced platelets, as well as providing services for the local healthcare facilities that our community relies on every day to save lives.

ELIGIBILITY AND DEMOGRAPHICS

Eligibility to donate blood is always a question mark for some people. Realistically, as long as you are 16 years or older, with parental consent for minors, and are in reasonably good health, you are eligible to donate. 

In the past, it was more difficult for those living with diabetes or on blood thinning medication to make blood donations. The FDA has recently relaxed some of those restrictions, including those that have been overseas and exposed to diseases such as Mad Cow. If you have questions about your eligibility to donate, you can visit the website or reach out to someone on staff: www.suncoastblood.org. 

“There is no upper age limit to donate,” explains CEO Scott M. Bush. “We actually have people that are 102 years old making consistent donations with us. It’s kind of like an oil change. Studies have shown that men over 50 regularly donating blood can reduce the likelihood of heart attack by 88%. When your body makes new blood cells, they are 2-3 times more effective at carrying oxygen. Many people of the older demographic use blood donations as wellness treatments, and they are really quite effective.” 

SunCoast Blood Centers and other similar organizations have been struggling to get donations from younger people over the last five years. One big reason for this was seeing blood drives at high schools get suspended because of the pandemic and natural disasters forcing campuses to be used as shelters.

“While the youth demographic has typically made up nearly 25% of all national donations in past years, we’ve seen that number dip down to 9%. It’s harder for us to get on school campuses with security restrictions. Reaching back out to younger people and getting those numbers back up is a prominent goal of ours right now,” said Scott. 

TYPES OF DONATIONS

Another misconception among many people are the various types of blood donations. There are four main categories that SunCoast targets when seeking donors: whole blood, platelets, double red cells, and plasma. Whole blood donations typically take less than 30 minutes and approximately one pint of blood is taken. 

As more and more people continue to move to our region, hospitals and cancer centers are constantly needing more donations. Right now, 50% of SunCoast’s donations go toward helping cancer patients. The shelf life of donations is also a concern.

“What people don’t realize is, blood is perishable,” said Scott. “When platelets are donated, we only have five days to get them to a patient, and one of those days is used for testing. In regards to whole blood, we only have 42 days to use it.”

Another area of concern is finding donors with the blood type of O-Negative. While only 7% of donations are O-Negative, they make up 14% of all transfusions. So increasing the number of donors with that blood type, along with donors for platelets is a strong focus as SunCoast aims to reach a broader donor base. 

NEW INCENTIVE PROGRAM

In order to achieve its goals of reaching specific demographics and types of donations, SunCoast is introducing a new incentive program to reward donors financially. They are proud to introduce the “Live Here. Give Here. Save Here…Rewarded Here” campaign that rewards individuals for saving lives.

As a new blood donor, you’ll receive a $30 reward for your first donation. But that’s just the beginning. Existing donors will receive $20-$70 in rewards for each donation. Your donation stays in the local community, helping accident victims, cancer patients, and those with blood disorders. Compensation will come in the form of an e-gift card of the donors choosing, including retailers such as Amazon, Starbucks, Lowes, and other types such as gas or grocery stores. 

“We’re just getting this program rolled out, and we’re all in on this. We’ve had such a hard time lately because of the hurricanes and having so many people affected in our region. We’re putting all of our eggs in this basket hoping this turns the tide in our area so we can get these donations to patients that need them in a timely manner.” 

CLINICAL RESEARCH STUDIES

Clinical research studies play a crucial role in uncovering new treatments for diseases, as well as enhancing methods for detection, diagnosis, and prevention. These studies provide insights that can’t be gained from lab experiments or animal testing, helping researchers understand what truly works in humans. The ultimate goal is to expand medical knowledge and elevate the standard of patient care.

Groundbreaking medical advancements rely on the participation of clinical research volunteers provided by our organization and others. Both individuals with the target condition and healthy volunteers play a vital role in advancing medical knowledge and treatments. Without the selfless contribution of these research participants, critical clinical studies simply could not be conducted.

Recently, an organization that SunCoast works with has announced a cure for Sickle Cell, which many thought wasn’t even possible. This was made as a direct result from individuals participating in various clinical studies. 

SunCoast also works directly with cancer patients at places like Moffit Cancer Centers to extend their life and improve their quality of life by taking their white blood cells, adding receptors to fight the cancer, and placing them back in the patient’s body. 

While some studies are done through volunteering participants, there are several available with financial compensation up to $850. 

PHILANTHROPY AND WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

If you are interested in becoming a donor, whether it be financially or through a type of blood donation, you can visit the website, www.suncoastblood.org, to find the closest donation center for you. The organization is always looking for volunteers to help reach its goals as well. 

Other ways to help include starting a blood drive at your place of business or sponsoring events to raise awareness. SunCoast also offers scholarships to students that would like to accumulate their community service hours, or make at least three blood donations. 

Together, we can come together as a community to help increase the number of blood donors and increase the number of patients saved through those donations. Together, we can “Live Here, Give Here, and Save Here.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION on SunCoast Blood Banks, visit www.suncoastblood.org.