KAILUA-KONA — Kona resident Jim Lovell has donated a lot of blood over the past 38 years.
“I do it because it’s just a great feeling knowing that you could save someone’s life,” said the 56-year-old who’s now donated over 114 pints of the life-saving liquid.
“I think most people, if they had the ability to save someone’s life, would. If someone was dying, you know, I mean if you saw someone’s kid getting ready to be hit by a car, you’d grab the kid and pull it out of the way and save their life,” he added. “It just makes you feel good and this (giving blood) is a way that you can actually do it.”
Lovell started donating blood in 1980 at age 18 when one of his daughter’s friends was diagnosed with a brain tumor and needed blood transfusions. Then, he said, he fell off for a while, donating sporadically, here and there.
It was in the late 1980s and early 1990s while living in Kailua-Kona that he said he found out that in addition to having a B negative blood type, which is rare, he was negative for a flu-like virus called cytomegalovirus, or CMV. CMV negative blood is required for babies needing transfusions as part of medical care.
“Once I found out I was CMV negative, that’s really one of the reasons I started donating every two months, trying to do it like clockwork,” he said, going on to note the importance of the specific blood in caring for premature babies. “They need the right type and it can’t have that virus in it or they will die. You can’t have little babies die, it’s just not good.”
To date, he’s pumped out more than 114 pints — enough to fill more than 14 gallon-sized jugs of milk.
He also recently recruited his girlfriend of 3.5 years to donate after learning she was blood type AB negative and had never given blood before.
“With only 2 percent donating, it’s worth it to try to expose new people and let them know how important and how critical it is, and that it is perfectly safe and there’s no side effects,” he said.
Lee Nelson said she had never donated blood before because it’s not usually part of a person’s regular routine, and of course, the needle. But she took the plunge in July.
“It was painless, quick and they were nice,” she said, “and it doesn’t take that long and I plan on going back. … It’ll be my second time, I’ve got to catch up to Jim because he’s given over a 100 pints.”
Urgent need for donors
The Blood Bank of Hawaii said last week it is in urgent need of donors to replenish its blood supply in the wake of Hurricane Lane and with the upcoming holiday weekend.
“Donors are urgently needed to roll up their sleeves and donate now to help replenish our blood supply,” Kim-Anh Nguyen, president and CEO of the Blood Bank of Hawaii, said in a news release. “Every two seconds, someone needs blood for a life-saving treatment or emergency care.”
As Hurricane Lane passed the state last week, a multi-day blood drive on Maui ended early and all blood drives on Oahu were canceled from Aug. 22-26. All blood collection operations in Honolulu were shutdown on Aug. 27. Collection and drives did not resume until Monday. Imports of red blood cells and platelets from the mainland were also delayed several days by flight and cargo cancellations.
That combination of appointment cancellations, drive cancellations, and operations shutdown resulted in a red cell deficit of 500 pints, which is equivalent to several days’ blood supply, according to Nguyen.
In response to the blood shortage crisis, governors across the United States, including Hawaii Gov. David Ige, have honored the request of the American Red Cross, United Blood Services, Dr. Daliah Wachs, syndicated radio personality, and blood banks across the country to proclaim a state Blood Donation Day.
Hawaii Blood Donation Day will be Sept. 5, and National Blood Donation Week runs Sept. 3-10.
To that end, the Blood Bank of Hawaii and its team of volunteers will hold blood drives in West Hawaii from 10:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Tuesday at the Church of Latter-day Saints Waimea Ward Cultural Hall in Waimea; and from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Church of Latter-day Saints Kona Stake Center. Various drives are also scheduled Sept. 17-21 in East Hawaii.
The nonprofit typically holds neighbor island drives every eight weeks. Donors of all blood types are always needed, since blood is perishable and has a relatively short lifespan.
Normally, Hawaii’s blood supply consists of about one week’s usage of red blood cells, two to three days of platelets, and two to four weeks of frozen components (plasma and cryoprecipitate), Nguyen said. Half is stored at the Blood Bank of Hawaii headquarters in Honolulu while the other half at hospital blood banks.
Mid-week, the blood bank’s inventory had dwindled to a two- to three-day supply of blood components, with the exception for universal blood types, O-negative red blood cells and AB plasma, she said. By Friday morning, there was a two- to three-day supply of red blood cells and the organization was working to get frozen components back to a two-week supply.
“As we anticipated, blood use at our hospitals was much higher over the last three days,” said Nguyen in reference to hospitals resuming elective surgeries and infusion clinic operations after the storm had passed. “We expect that the week after Labor Day will be high also. Blood collected this week will be important to be ready for distribution.”
And, there’s also always the threat of natural disasters for which the blood bank has little time to prepare.
“Although hurricanes can be tracked days before they hit land, other disasters such as volcano eruptions, fires, floods, accidents, and mass casualties are unplanned and sudden. When these disasters call for blood, it’s the blood already on the shelves that is used for transfusion,” said Nguyen. “Even if donors came out immediately after a disaster hits, it may be too late to save patients’ lives by the time newly collected blood is ready to use.”
What’s needed, how it’s obtained and where it goes
The nonprofit organization requires approximately 200 donors a day to supply blood to 18 hospitals statewide.
Three of those are acute-care hospitals on the Big Island: Kona Community Hospital, North Hawaii Community Hospital and Hilo Medical Center. The organization is also a secondary provider to Tripler Army Medical Center on Oahu and provides blood to Guam Regional Medical City Hospital.
Last year, the Blood Bank of Hawaii collected about 46,420 pints of blood from roughly 27,000 donors, of which about 2,500 were from the Big Island, according to data provided by Nguyen.
Those Big Island donors pumped full 4,183 pints — or about 9 percent of the state’s blood collections in 2017. About two-thirds, or 2,771 pints, of that blood came from collections in East Hawaii while West Hawaii contributed about 1,412 pints.
When blood is donated, trained technicians draw one pint using a new, sterile and disposable needle. While blood collection takes 5 to 8 minutes, donors should plan to spend an hour because they have to do some paper work and their vital signs are checked.
The blood is then separated into two components: red blood cells and plasma. It undergoes a dozen tests, including for blood type as well as for infectious diseases like HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and Zika virus, before all donor and donation information is processed and reviewed.
“A lot happens behind the scenes before blood can go from vein to vein,” said Nguyen.
Red blood cells contain hemoglobin, which enables cells to pick up and deliver oxygen to the body. The cells are needed to replenish blood lost by bleeding patients, such as trauma victims, organ transplants, OB hemorrhage, and premature babies. When refrigerated, red blood cells can be stored for 42 days.
Platelets and plasma help in clotting and are used in patients with cancer, liver disease, burns, and open heart surgeries. Plasma is frozen and can be stored for up to one year while platelets can be stored for just five days.
“That’s why 150-200 donors are needed daily to maintain an adequate statewide supply,” said Nguyen.
Hawaii Island’s three hospitals alone used 5,475 components, which includes units of red blood cells, platelets, plasma and cryoprecipitate, in 2017, or about 8 percent of the components available statewide. Across Hawaii, 71,090 components were distributed to hospital that year.
Red blood cells accounted for the majority of the components used on Hawaii Island at 3,969 units compared with 419 units of platelets in 2017. At Kona Community Hospital, 1,043 units of red blood cells were used while North Hawaii Community Hospital used 515 units. Hilo Medical Center required the most units at 2,411.
“It’s great to know Hawaii donors support their own needs,” said Nguyen, comparing the island’s distribution with pints of blood donated, which was about 9 percent of the state’s total collected last year.