Houchin Blood Bank’s mobile bloodmobile received 37 blood donations from Bakersfield College students and faculty on Oct. 10.
Only about 3 percent of the population donates blood, which makes it difficult to meet the demands of the community.
“We distribute 155 units of blood a day to hospitals all around Kern County. We have to collect that much to meet our standards,” said Sandi Schwartz registered nurse.
The blood bank is volunteer-based; a donor can donate blood every eight weeks.
It takes on average about 40 minutes to give blood. The majority of the time is spent on screening. It takes five to ten minutes to actually donate the blood. After enough blood is given, it’s picked up and processed in a lab.
“We come to BC once or twice a year. We usually collect 40 pints of blood from here,” said Schwartz.
Last year, Houchin distributed 22 thousand pints of blood to Kern County. “I have O negative blood. I’m what you call a universal donor. I can give blood to everyone and their grandma, but I can only receive O negative,” said Natasha Aaron, pediatric nurse major.
Houchin Blood Bank was invited to BC by BC’s Pre-med club, who got people signed in and gave them food and snacks.
“This is part of the Pre-med club community service. We do as much as we can to help out,” said Pre-Med club president Tuan Nguyen.
In order to give blood, there are some requirements. A donor must be 17 years of age and present a picture ID with date of birth. He or she must eat a meal five hours prior to donating and should be free from all cold, flu, or infection symptoms for four days.
“I’ve given blood plenty of times, I’m O positive, so I can give and receive blood to and from every body. After I give blood, I feel sleepy, but I just drink a lot of water and it feels better,” said geophysics major James Lopez.
Houchin Blood Bank, founded in 1958, is a non-profit organization that collects blood for Kern County residents. Their two locations in Bakersfield are on Truxtun Avenue and G Street. Houchin also has two mobile bloodmobiles, buses, a six-seater and a three-seater.