PHOENIX (Sept. 13, 2022) – Faced with a critical blood shortage since mid-June, Banner Health is encouraging all eligible donors to roll-up their sleeves to donate blood.
The nonprofit health care system will be holding a series of blood drives at many of their Arizona hospitals beginning Wednesday. Sept. 14, 2022. For a complete list of participating hospitals and their dates, please go to Vitalant - Banner Vitalant Blood Drive Program
Nonprofit blood services provider Vitalant has seen its blood supply fall nearly 50% from the beginning of the summer and is urging people make appointments to donate and help replenish the blood supply.
All blood types are needed, especially the most commonly transfused type O, according to Vitalant. Emergency room personnel use O-negative when there is not enough time to determine a patient’s blood type, and O-positive can help anyone with Rh-positive blood.
The Food and Drug Administration recently changed eligibility requirements. Previously, donors were unable to donate if they had traveled to France, Ireland or the United Kingdom due to the risk of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, also known as mad cow disease. Those who were previously unable to donate due to this deferral are now eligible to donate, as long as they meet all of the other eligibility requirements.
If you are unable to participate at one of the Banner campus blood drives, click on the virtual link to give blood in the name of your desired Banner campus at any Vitalant blood drive or donor center.
About Banner Health
Banner Health is one of the largest, secular nonprofit health care systems in the country. In addition to 30 acute-care hospitals, Banner also has an academic division, Banner – University Medicine, and a partnership with one of the world’s leading cancer programs, Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center. Banner’s array of services includes a health-insurance division, employed physician groups, outpatient surgery centers, urgent care locations, home care and hospice services, retail pharmacies, stand-alone imaging centers, physical therapy and rehabilitation, behavioral health services, a research division and a nursing registry. To make health care easier, 100% of Banner-employed doctors are available for virtual visits, and Banner operates a free 24/7 nurse line for health questions or concerns. Patients may also reserve spots at Banner Urgent Care locations and can book appointments online with many Banner-employed doctors. Headquartered in Arizona, Banner Health also has locations in California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Wyoming. For more information, visit bannerhealth.com.
About Vitalant
Vitalant (“Vye-TAL-ent”) is the nation’s largest independent, nonprofit blood services provider exclusively focused on providing lifesaving blood and comprehensive transfusion medicine services for about 900 hospitals and their patients across the U.S. Every day, Vitalant needs to collect nearly 5,000 blood, platelet and plasma donations to help save lives. For more information and to schedule a donation appointment, visit vitalant.org or call 877-25-VITAL (877-258-4825). Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
For further information contact us at: media@bannerhealth.com