As I approached the bloodmobile last Wednesday, June 10, I felt more than a little nervous. I was going to donate blood, and let me go ahead and get this out of the way: I don’t do well with needles. But I had decided that I would face my fears. I was going to prove to anyone who might feel a similar fear to mine that it was OK—and maybe even rewarding.
This may be obvious, but I had never donated blood before. And it’s very likely you haven’t either. According to the Community Blood Center of the Ozarks, only 3% of the population gives blood—and for northwest Arkansas in particular, that small percentage makes a substantial impact.
“I think CBCO is one of the best-kept secrets in northwest Arkansas—until someone has been impacted by the need for blood. Most people don't think about where this blood comes from or how it got to them.”
That’s Greg Womack. He’s a blood drive consultant for the Community Blood Center of the Ozarks, and he said that when you donate with the CBCO, you’re saving the lives of your neighbors:
“We supply every single unit of blood to every hospital in northwest Arkansas,” Womack said. “So, anyone who donates blood with Community Blood Center of the Ozarks, that blood is going to help someone at one of our hospitals here locally. And that's not to say other blood banks shouldn't be supported—it’s just nice for our donors, our sponsor groups, the media, city leaders and community leaders to know that our blood bank is actually the sole source of blood for our hospitals and our patients here. So, anyone that gives blood with Community Blood Center of the Ozarks, they know it's going to help someone here.”
That means that the CBCO provided every drop of blood to all 45 hospitals in the organization’s 41-county service area. For example, Washington Regional in Fayetteville received 7,912 units in 2023. A unit of blood is roughly equivalent to one pint, which might be further divided to use its different components, like plasma and platelets.
“It’s a good thing to give back to the community, and blood donation is personal to me because I am a blood recipient. If it wasn't for donors donating blood, I would not be standing here today.”
Bonnie Bolinger is the senior administrative assistant for the Fayetteville mayor’s office. She has facilitated city-sponsored blood drives with the CBCO for the past 15 years. She said that community blood drives are especially helpful during the summer when donations slow down.
“Normally, in the summertime, blood donations are lower because everybody's off on vacation and school,” Bolinger said. “Kids are out of school, so people are out traveling. But our blood drives seem like they're pretty constant, pretty steady as far as the number of donors that come out, but I have noticed, like today, our appointments are a little bit lower.”
Womack said the CBCO organizes many education-based drives throughout the school year at elementary schools, high schools, colleges and universities. Those school-centered drives supply roughly three-quarters of the blood collected by the CBCO.
“All of those sources of blood donations go away, and so we have a lot fewer groups to donate to support the local blood supply in June, July and August,” he said. “So we rely a lot more on our community blood drives, just like the city of Fayetteville, because they’re year-round. So we really depend heavily on those groups during those three months of the year.”
If you can’t attend a community blood drive, you can always visit the CBCO donor centers in Bentonville and Springdale. You can go to their website for more information about their donor centers and other community blood drives occurring throughout the summer.
OK, now it’s time to face the music, or in this case, the IV. When I entered the bloodmobile, the friendly staff told me to fill out a survey regarding my medical history. They then ushered me into a smaller room to run some tests on my hemoglobin numbers, blood pressure and pulse.
Before I knew it, I was in a chair being swabbed with an antiseptic as an attendant prepped my vein for donation.
Once my vein was tapped, the process felt quick. Before I knew it, I was out the door snacking on some Cheez-Its and Powerade. It was nothing! Plus, I would receive an email informing me of my blood type, cholesterol levels and other vitals. The CBCO even has a program called “Thank the Donor” that allows the recipient of your blood the chance to send you an anonymous message of gratitude.
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a rush deadline by reporters. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. The authoritative record of KUAF programming is the audio record.
