ARUP's Blood Donors for Babies Program
Welcome to the Blood Donors for Babies program! As stated in ARUP Blood Services' Mission Statement, we are committed to continually improve patient care by providing a safe and adequate supply of blood and blood products for local patients in need. These local patients range from infants to the elderly.
Among the hospitals we serve, ARUP Blood Services supplies the blood for the only two children's hospitals in Utah -- Primary Children's Medical Center (PCMC) and Shriners Hospital for Children.
Both PCMC and the University of Utah Hospital continually require fresh blood and platelet donations for children being treated for cancer, trauma, burns, organ and bone marrow transplants. In addition, PCMC typically has five to 10 children's heart surgeries every week, and most premature babies require a blood transfusion to replenish blood lost from so many tests. Of the 75 blood donors we need every day, eight of those donors are needed for babies.
To help meet the blood needs of the babies we serve, ARUP Blood Services has created the Blood Donors for Babies program.
Blood used for children is a little different than blood used for adult patients and can pose some challenges for us to make it available. To be specific, blood used for babies must meet two main criteria:
- The blood must be less than five days old, which creates a continual, ongoing need--particularly during weekends and holidays when fewer people tend to donate.
- The blood must be CMV negative. CMV is an abbreviation for Cytomegalovirus, which is a mild form of the herpes virus and can be manifested in flu-like symptoms. Only about 20 percent of the U.S. population is CMV negative.
All members of the Blood Donors for Babies program will receive a special pin upon joining!
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If you are interested in becoming part of this program or would like to receive more information, please call Sally at (801) 583-2787, ext. 2646.
