By Alisa Gershman
OneBlood is an organization many of us are used to seeing around our communities. Whether the Big Red Bus is spotted in a local parking lot or on the move transporting lifesaving blood, its mission remains present no matter what.
The organization prides itself on being a nonprofit resource for blood, plasma and platelet donations and an outlet for stem cell research. It strives to help as many people as possible with lifesaving treatments.
Founded in January 2012, the group seeks to provide healthy blood for the entire state of Florida. Because blood cannot be made artificially without the human body and has a very low shelf life, the time between receiving the donor’s blood and it being sent/tested for a donor is extremely precious. The group’s classic Big Red Bus is a telltale sign of this important transaction occurring.
Not only does OneBlood believe in the importance of donating blood for others, but its mission also aligns with many of the hospitals that it partners with. Using the blood collected, it sends the blood to over 300 local hospitals across Florida, Alabama and the Carolinas to be stored and used for patients who may have cancer, need a blood transfusion, are undergoing an organ transplant, etc.
All the nonprofit’s wonderful qualities begin not with its mission but with the donors themselves. The people who take the time out of their day to go and donate their blood, knowing it may help someone else, are what keep the hope alive.
One volunteer, John-Micheal Elms, is a local from the FishHawk area who helps set up these accessible drives.
“I host a drive about every eight weeks. … We routinely collect more than 20 units at every drive,” said Elms.
This dedication helps to provide OneBlood with healthy blood to collect and send off to those in need.
But blood is not the only thing that OneBlood strives to receive. Platelets and plasma are just as important and often misunderstood in their necessity. Donors who choose to give platelets are helping others whose blood cannot clot properly and therefore results in excess bleeding and partial healing of wounds. Plasma also has an important role as it transports water and nutrients through your blood to the rest of your body.
These important factors of blood are vital to life, and with OneBlood’s existence, they make an existential impact on the people who need it.
For more information, visit www.oneblood.org to find a local donation location near you.
