Blood Donations Needed

It's estimated that sixty percent of our population will, at some point during their life, n...  More »

It's estimated that sixty percent of our population will, at some point during their life, need blood. One organization in town plays a key role in getting it to those who need it most-and they need your help. Jason Torreano explains.... VO: THERE ARE HEROES WALKING AMONGST US.....SO SAYS CONNIE MORRIS OF UNITED BLOOD SERVICES IN Bismarck. SOT: Connie Morris/Center Director 8 seconds It truly is being a hero. There is nothing that we can manufancter that can replace blood or blood products. VO: AND CONNIE AND HER STAFF ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR NEW HEROS....300 DONATIONS ARE NEEDED EACH DAY TO MAINTAIN A STEADY SUPPLY. Morris SOT: 6 seconds On a typical day day we need to see in Bismarck, in the center here, 24-25 donors. FULL SCREEN GRAPHIC WITH VO: UNITED BLOOD SERVICES PROVIDES PRODUCT TO 73 HOSPITALS ACROSS NORTH AND South Dakota AS WELL AS Minnesota....DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS THE BLOOD SUPPLY TYPICALLY DROPS. CENTER OFFICIALS SAY PEOPLE MAY TAKE VACATIONSBUT EMERGENCIES DON'T. VO CONTINUES-AND IT DOESN'T JUST GO FROM YOUR ARM TO THE PATIENT... IT TAKES A COUPLE DAYS TO PERFORM A VARIETY TESTS TO ENSURE THE PRODUCT IS SAFE..... Morris SOT: 12 seconds It's critical that we have a supply on hand at all times, if there was an emergency to happen in five minutes from now, we want to make sure that the blood that we drew two days ago is ready for transfusion. VO- CHUCK CURTISS OF Mandan HAS BEEN DONATING FOR YEARS....AND LET US TAG ALONG FOR A TYPICAL DONATION. FIRST COME THE QUESTIONS...THEN A BLOOD SAMPLE, THEN THE DONATION. WHY DOES HE DONATE? SOT: Chuck Curtiss/Mandan I just felt the need to do it, and it's just something...it's easy to do and might as well give something back...gotta give back to the community or whoever needs it. VO: THE WHOLE PROCESS FROM START TO FINISH FOR CHUCK WAS AROUND AN HOUR...BUT IS IT REALLY THAT SIMPLE BEING A HERO...CHUCK SAYS THERE IS ONE PART HE COULD LIVE WITHOUT... SOT: Chuck Curtiss I think about the worst part of blood donation that I can think of is when they pull the tape off your arm and pull out the hair. That hurts more than the needle stick. VO: A SMALL PRICE TO PAY CHUCK SAYS-FOR HELPING SOMEBODY IN NEED. AT UNITED BLOOD SERVICES, I'M JASON TORREANO- KX NEWS. You must be 17 and in good health to donate with United Blood Services. The organization began in 1943 in Arizona.  « Less