Lee Health Seeking Blood Donations

From Susie Nystrom, Director of the Blood Center at Lee Health

Donating blood is the ultimate gift.

Doing it could save someone’s life.

At Lee Health, current blood supplies are critically low, and our blood centers are in urgent need of donors.

If you’re able, please consider donating blood. Lee Health is asking the community for O positive blood donations to help refill inventory levels.

Due to the summer months with more of our neighbors traveling while kids are out of school and our seasonal residents going back up north, blood donations tend to drop. But the need doesn’t. It remains constant.

As home to the region’s only trauma center, it is vital that the health system’s blood supply remains at healthy levels in order to quickly care for patients needing an urgent transfusion.

Blood and blood products are not only used in the trauma center, but also to treat cancer patients, premature babies, anemia and a variety of other conditions. A single donation can be separated into a variety of blood components; the platelets may go to a child with leukemia, the plasma to a patient with a clotting problem, and the red blood cells to an accident victim.

Lee Health’s blood centers are the sole supplier of all blood products for the entire health system. About 800 units of blood are needed per week, and the blood centers rely on life-saving donations from the community to maintain inventory levels.

Though there is a current need for O positive blood, donors of all blood types are welcomed and encouraged to help serve the needs of our community.

The Lee Health Blood Mobile will be at numerous locations throughout Southwest Florida this summer.

If you are unable to attend one of the blood drives, donations can also be made at one of Lee Health’s blood centers to help save lives. 

All blood donated at Lee Health stays within the health system to care for patients in Southwest Florida.