Service Learning Assignment as Donor Monitor at Bloodworks Northwest

Camille Foskey

40+ hours total

Jeremy Vollman; jeremyv@bloodworksnw.org

Bloodworks Northwest coordinates various blood drives throughout the state of Washington, their goal is to collect blood donation from eligible donor volunteers to then package and ship to hospitals in need. My duties as a donor monitor were to offer refreshments after an individual has donated and be sure they remain seated and relaxed for 7-10 minutes to assure they are feeling well before leaving. I’ve been volunteering for Bloodworks as a donor monitor for about eight months now completing over 40 hours, I have the option of picking my own shifts and to either stay at their Lynnwood location or tag along on their bus to various companies, schools, churches etc. I’ve learned a lot throughout that time and have had the chance to talk with the techs about their jobs, similar classes they’ve taken and any advice they had for me as I go into the medical field, I’ve also had the opportunity to talk with donors about their interests, families, careers and goals they wish to complete within their job’s company.

Throughout the course of time I’ve been with Bloodworks I’ve learned how great the demand for blood donations really is. They are constantly advertising and contacting people to donate no matter what blood type they might have. Unfortunately, even with a large crowd of people wanting to donate they might not all be qualified to donate. They must first go through a screening process containing a questionnaire, a blood pressure test and a quick look at their blood nutrient levels. If anything, alarming appears such as low weight, low iron, infections, diseases, recent out of country travel or various other things they must dismiss the individual and suggest they either come back another time or claim they are ineligible to donate at all. I am constantly asking question to the techs about anything and everything that might come cross my mind,  at my most resent volunteer shift I asked about incidents that may or have occurred with blood donors and the reasons they might occur, circumstances such as fainting, vomiting and tetanus were brought up; as they went on to explain using specific medical and biology terms, I realized that without the prior and current education I possess I would not have understood or been able to follow.

 It isn’t false how various studies have found how huge of an impact volunteering has on not only the community but on ourselves as individuals. I had originally started volunteering on the mere fact that it looks good on my college application, but as time went on I found that volunteering has also rewarded me with a sense of placement and importance; showing up and being told multiple times throughout my shift how thankful not only the techs are for having me there, but also the donors showing appreciation. It has also come to my attention that not only am I just volunteering, but I get to volunteer for a place that couldn’t run without volunteers taking the time out of their day to come in and sit for 20-30 minutes just to get their blood drawn merely for the chance that it could help another individual. Volunteering isn’t a difficult thing that takes a large commitment and hours out of your day or week, it can be flexible and the demand for volunteers throughout our community is always on the rise. I encourage everyone to take the time to give back to their community in any way they can, it takes very little but the outcome is huge!

Questions

1)     I’ve always wondered how exactly the body can accept foreign blood

2)     How is technology about to find out what kind of blood type we possess

3)     Why individuals with blood types such as O+/O- can only accept that same blood type, while other blood types are eligible to accept many kinds

4)     I am curious how much blood is not only donated annually but how much of it is used due to the short shelf live blood has

Picture taken by me inside a mobile blood drive (was approved to used)