We are making great strides in re-establishing the normal rhythms of life: students returning to school, mask mandates expiring, vaccination efforts progressing. Families are planning vacations, and weddings are on the calendar.
Yes, we have made many strides, and more will be made faster as the number of people vaccinated increases.
But as ready as we are for finding the next normal after 14 long months of masks and mandates, what about our safety nets?
What about, say, Blood Assurance, the invaluable nonprofit organization that supplies the lifesaving blood to all of our Chattanooga hospitals and dozens more around the South?
"I would say we are at a critical need for sure," said Caitlin Stanley, the director of marketing and public relations at Blood Assurance. "Our donor numbers are way down, even from this time last year."
Sure, it's easy to say we should have expected donor numbers to drop from pre-COVID levels, but this time last year we all had our heads on swivels about coronavirus, murder hornets and whether that Tiger King woman was going to kill someone else. The year 2020 was a blur.
Now, Blood Assurance is well behind that pace.
The numbers are scary down and demand our action. The organization says its baseline need to meet supply is 540 donors across its multiple locations a day. A day.
Right now, Blood Assurance is getting half that, according to Stanley.
Appointments are strongly recommended, but Stanley said no one will be turned away because the need is so great. Without an appointment, however, donors might have to wait.
DONORS NEEDED
Blood Assurance recommends donors make appointments to donate blood at its three Chattanooga-area locations. Call 800-962-0628 for directions, appointments or locations.
The rapid transition to remote work during COVID hampered blood donation drives, too. The Blood Assurance buses, which visit area workplaces to make donations easier for employees, are still up and running, but the lack of tappable veins available at downtown offices, for example, has flipped the script on where blood donations are coming from. Before COVID, Stanley guesstimated that 60% of donations came from the mobile centers. Now, more than 60% comes from donors who visit Blood Assurance offices.
With activity restrictions lifting and confidence growing quickly about getting out and about - never mind traveling, prom season, getting-back-in-the-boat season and everything else - life getting closer to full speed means Blood Assurance needs to quickly get closer to full stock.
"I know folks have been hesitant, and we're trying to get people back [to donating]," Stanley said. "It may not be top of mind for a lot of people right now, but it could not be more important for us to let people know we are in critical need."
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com.
View other columns by Jay Greeson
Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 4/15/14. Staff Mugs