Mayo to host 'Donate In Your Neighborhood' bold drives in May and June

Matthew Stolle, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·2 min read

May 2—ROCHESTER — Mayo Clinic is hosting "Donate In Your Neighborhood" blood drives at locations across Olmsted County starting May 5 and running through June 27.

Over the next two months, donors will be able to give blood at car dealerships, community centers, city halls, local armories and other non-medical locations to make it easier for people who now work from home or don't travel to Rochester.

Stacie Hammer, a Mayo Clinic Blood Donor Center, said that unlike some areas of the country, Olmsted County is currently not suffering from a blood shortage, but the need remains constant and ongoing.

Most people associate the need for blood with traumatic events or natural disasters where the need for blood becomes acute, and people line up in response to the heightened demand. But she said that only 40% of Mayo's blood product is used for trauma situations. The rest — 60% — is used for everyday patient care such as surgeries, cancer patients and postpartum mothers.

It takes about 100 donors a day to maintain "our community's blood supply," she said. Of the four blood types, the greatest need is AB blood.

Mayo Clinic employees and others employed in health care often tend to be consistent donors of blood. But now with many of them working from home, the time it takes for them to travel to Mayo to give blood is longer. Mayo employees are given an hour of paid time to donate blood.

"We're opening these up throughout the community, trying to make it easier for people because they aren't necessarily downtown anymore," Hammer said.

The locations and times are as follows:

* May 5, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tom Kadlec Kia, 4444 U.S. Highway 52, Rochester;

* May 9, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Oronoco Community Center, 115 Second St. NW, Oronoco;

* May 23, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Eyota Ambulance, 753 Robert Ave., Eyota;

* May 25, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., City of Byron, 680 Byron Main Court NE, Byron;

* June 15 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Eyota Ambulance, 753 Robert Ave., Eyota;

* June 27, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Rochester Armory, 1715 Marion Road SE, Rochester.

People who want to donate at a community blood drive need to make an appointment. They can call the Mayo Clinic Blood Donor Program at 507-284-4475 to schedule an appointment.