Daviess County Fiscal Court has proclaimed January 2022 as National Volunteer Blood Donor Month.
Over the past year, more than 20,000 blood components were delivered to nine medical facilities for transfusion by the Western Kentucky Regional Blood Center.
“We have had a very busy week,” said Vicki Ellis, Director of Donor Resources. “And we can’t do anything at the Blood Center…we can have all the technology in the world…without that volunteer blood donor. They are number one to our success.”
Donating one unit of blood can save as many as three lives. Ellis said she’s thankful for the people who donated blood last week.
“Because those people ensured when that tornado hit, we had blood on the shelf,” she added. “That’s one of the reasons National Volunteer Blood Donor Month is really important to our Blood Center. It creates awareness and a reminder to donate.”
The Western Kentucky Regional Blood Center is a member of the Blood Emergency Readiness Corps, an important safety net for emergency situations.
“We stand ready, pleased to be a member of that organization,” Ellis said. “Should something tremendous hit here, it’s good to know we’ve got great partners behind us and we’ll meet those needs.”
Ellis said the Blood Center did backfill Caldwell County Hospital as well as an Air Evac helicopter following the December 10th tornado in Western Kentucky.
“We were also contacted by the Department for Public Health with the State of Kentucky for assistance in Bowling Green,” she added. “We did send products via State Police to Bowling Green to assist there.”
The Western Kentucky Regional Blood Center is a not-for-profit community blood center serving the region since 1978. They are the sole supplier of blood and blood products at six hospitals and three air ambulances.
For more information, visit https://www.wkrbc.org/ or call the Owensboro Center at 270-684-9296.
