ARUP Blood Services Meets Urgent Need for Blood Products

ARUP Blood Services works day in and day out to collect blood products essential to patient care in Utah. Each day presents new and different challenges, yet there are always patients in urgent need of blood transfusions.

Give Local, Save Local

ARUP Blood Services is the sole provider of blood products to all University of Utah Health hospitals and clinics.

To meet the donation need requires 75 donors per day and 2,200 units of whole blood and platelets per month
To meet the donation need requires 75 donors per day and 2,200 units of whole blood and platelets per month

Times of Greatest Need

January, summer, December, and holidays are the need for blood donations increase
  • January is National Blood Donor Month, a time to replenish inventories following the holiday season.
  • Holidays and 3-day weekends deplete inventories, as would-be donors often travel out of state at the same time that risky outdoor activities are increasing the number of trauma patients.
  • Summer is challenging without the donations that result from high school blood drives.
  • December is our time of greatest need due to a reduced number of donations and an increase in end-of-year surgeries.

Need for Platelets

Platelets take longer to donate and have a shorter shelf life, so donations are ALWAYS needed. Platelets are used to treat people with cancer and blood disorders as well as those undergoing open heart surgery, among others.

Platelets have a short, 5-day shelf life and donations typically take 1.5-2.5 hours
Platelets have a short, 5-day shelf life and donations typically take 1.5-2.5 hours

Blood Drives

60% of whole blood donations come from blood drives
60% of whole blood donations come from blood drives

How to Help

DONATE at an upcoming drive or at donation centers in Salt Lake City and Sandy. Organize a blood drive by calling 801-583-2787, ext. 2639, or sending an email to deborah.jordan@aruplab.com.

  1. Pick a date for the blood drive, ideally 2–3 months in advance. Bonus: Schedule over the summer or winter to help when donations are needed most.

  2. Recruit at least 35 donors to sign up.

  3. Secure an appropriate location. Choose a place for the bloodmobile to park or a spacious indoor area.

  4. Roughly three weeks before the drive begins, begin promoting the drive by word of mouth and with marketing materials provided by ARUP Blood Services.

  5. Provide an on-site representative to coordinate logistics on the day of the drive.

Remember: Give Local, Save Local. Help your community by scheduling a blood drive today.

Graphics by Athena Ho