How Latter-day Saints are helping save lives through blood drives

A blood donor gives a thumbs-up as an American Red Cross employee begins to take her blood in a Latter-day Saint meetinghouse in Fenton, Missouri, March 3, 2021. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are quietly helping to save lives through blood drives, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The American Red Cross has recognized the church as its “top organization” in terms of units of blood donated (88,500 since January 2020) and hosting blood drives in the past year, according to a church newsroom article.

Although cancelations tripled in 2020, the American Red Cross continued to function thanks to its partnership with the church, which has helped the American Red Cross to sponsor 2,500 blood drives in the United States in the last year, said David Staszak, divisional vice president of the American Red Cross’s southwest and Rocky Mountain area.

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ultimately has helped us bridge that gap so that we can continue to collect blood and help those patients in need,” Staszak said in the article.

Latter-day Saints are also credited with volunteering the most for ARUP Blood Services of Utah, which supplies blood for University of Utah Health, the Huntsman Cancer Hospital and Shriners Hospital for Children.

Jason Parr, community relations representative for ARUP, said the church has helped save “thousands upon thousands of lives” by organizing more than 1,500 blood drives for ARUP over the past decade.

Read the full article at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

from Deseret News https://ift.tt/3eMnMxx