FM area in desperate need for blood donations following Friday’s tragedy

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) - After Friday’s shooting, our grieving community is coming together and looking for ways to help. Leadership of the healthcare nonprofit organization, Vitalant, say one way to pitch in is to donate blood.

Officials say they had enough blood to aid in the life-saving efforts of the Fargo Police officers that were shot on Friday, but the area’s supply is now very low.

“It’s an easy thing to do, so just take a little time out of your day you can donate,” says Denley Jacobson. He’s been donating blood and blood platelets regularly for roughly the last 10 years.

“Just giving back to the community and eventually everyone’s gonna have a need for that,” explains Jacobson.

According to the Regional Director of Vitalant, Jennifer Bredahl, blood donations are needed throughout the year. But right now is especially dire.

“The demand is up in the summer-times typically and the supply is down,” states Bredahl.

“We definitely need people to step up,” she says, “If we’re going to continue to trend where the donors are not coming out as often it’s gonna get real scary.”

At the Vitalant location in Fargo, employees say they’re seeing an increase in donations.

“I think we’re going to be seeing 15-20 more people than we were expecting today which is fantastic,” estimates Rowan Flynn, the Donor Care Team Lead at Vitalant. He says it’s easy to forget the importance of one’s job when you do the same thing day in and day out, but that times like these act as a good reminder.

“We can really switch gears and think about how important it is that we’re there for our community and that we can help everybody out,” says Flynn.

“You’re saving lives, literally saving lives,” says Bredahl.

If you would like to donate blood, Bredahl says the best way to help is to go to the Vitalent website, enter your zip code and make an appointment at the location nearest to you. She also adds, it’s important to know your blood type for donating and in case you need help.

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