Submitted Photo Pictured are Joshua Spinler and Alayna Spinler, whp donate blood regularly. The American Red Cross said the need for blood donations remain strong during the pandemic.

A famous saying from the American Red Cross is “every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood.”

Denise Beeles-Johnson is the Blood Services account manager in Chautauqua County, which means she schedules and coordinates local blood drives. In a recent interview, she explained the ins and outs of donating blood and what it means for Chautauqua County.

Beeles-Johnson noted that the need for blood is constant even during a pandemic.

In some aspects, the need for blood went up because of COVID-19, especially when elective surgeries were allowed to take place as doctors need blood on hand. Beeles-Johnson explained that though some people may have stopped donating during the pandemic, other new donors have stepped forward, so the number of donations has been even.

“Certain patients have a constant need for blood,” she said. “The first three kinds of patients that come to mind immediately include cancer patients, leukemia patients and sickle cell patients. Of course, emergency rooms and surgical rooms always need blood products on hand.”

Though all blood types are in constant need, the need for certain racial and ethnic group donations, especially African American and Latino blood product donations are especially encouraged. This is because patients with certain disorders, like sickle cell, require multiple transfusions and must be closely matched to the donor’s blood type, usually from the same racial and ethnic group.

Other racial and ethnic groups also offer their own specific blood types that can only be found in those groups, so the American Red Cross encourages these donations.

“People don’t want to talk about race or ethnicity, they get scared talking about it,” Beeles-Johnson said. ” But I’m very proud that we can call out to African American and Latino descendants and ask them to please come out and donate.”

Some donors may have concerns that their blood isn’t being used locally, but Beeles-Johnson assures that they prioritize and meet the local need first before sending blood to other places in the country. When that local need is met, they then turn to the national inventory system to send the products wherever they are needed.

Beeles-Johnson noted that most people know someone in their life who needed or needs blood donations to survive.

“Donating blood is so important because by giving up an hour of your time means a person or up to three people can live on to see the rest of their life,” she said. “This one moment of discomfort is worth the selfless act of giving.”

There are other benefits to donating blood, especially during this time in the pandemic. Those who donate can find out their blood type, which is interesting and neat to a lot of people, and the most recent addition is the antibody test for COVID-19 the American Red Cross is giving each donation of blood.

Beeles-Johnson said giving blood is easy, mostly painless and gratifying. “It takes about an hour of your time to donate, which is mostly spent making sure the donor and their blood is healthy,” she said. “Once we confirm those factors, it only takes about 15 minutes for the blood to be drawn.”

She added: “The American Red Cross is very thankful for their volunteers and donors that have continued to support us the best they can, especially during the pandemic. We could not do what the Red Cross does without the volunteers, donors and community partners.”