August blood drive

Tuesday wrapped up the United Blood Services’ August blood drive done in partnership with Whataburger that reached out to residents in Odessa, Midland and other West Texas communities.

"This was a brand new campaign for us, but certainly one we plan on repeating in 2011," UBS Center Director Lee Hartmann said.

"We saw this as a great opportunity to reach out to the community," said Gaby Hernandez, the Whataburger Marketing Coordinator in West Texas. After learning that the UBS needed help recruiting donors during the summer, Whataburger reached out to the UBS. Whataburger hoped the partnership would be an opportunity to help the UBS and thank Whataburger customers who donate blood.

Whataburger contributed to the campaign by providing donors with more than 3,000 sugar cookies, free coupons and the opportunity for three randomly selected donors to receive free Whataburger food for a year.

Approximately 1,400 people have attempted to donate blood and the UBS has received 155 donations of platelets and about 1,350 pints of blood and plasma. Additionally, the UBS has seen a 10 percent increase in donations compared to last August.

Despite the success of the drive, the need for donations continues. UBS has still only managed to fill half of its supply. Hospital patients are totally dependent on donations, so the need for donors is ongoing. Specifically, the UBS needs O and A negative blood.

Some people assume they won’t meet the requirements to be a blood donor. But the requirements, according to the UBS, are actually very simple. All donors above age 22 must be in good health and must bring an ID with their full legal name. Most medications are considered acceptable, although a donor may not give blood if they are on antibiotics. The UBS gives potential donors a mini-physical at the donation site so that they can judge whether or not a person is healthy enough to give blood.

The minimum age to donate is 16 and underage donors must bring written permission from their parents. The physical requirements are also different for donors between the ages of 16 and 22. Requirements vary depending on gender, height and weight.

While the Whataburger partnership is ending, this will not be the last opportunity for Odessa residents to donate. The UBS will be having a special event for Labor Day weekend at Music City Mall. The bloodmobile will be located near Fuddruckers from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

UBS officials said they are pleased with the partnership and the community response.

"It’s been wonderful," Hartmann said.