Montana Red Cross unveilved a new blood donation center in Bozeman in November.
The Red Cross is adding two new blood donations centers in Idaho over the next 18 months, bolstering its ability to provide lifesaving blood products to hospitals and medical centers across the state.
This expansion comes as Idaho’s population continues to surge, and with it, the need for blood products for cancer patients, accident victims, expecting mothers and countless others. The new facilities are part of a $2 million capital campaign that aims to grow the organization’s blood collection.
A new 6,000-square-foot facility in Nampa will include 14 donor beds, including six beds dedicated to platelet donation. Platelets help slow bleeding and are a key component of cancer treatment. The Nampa facility will be in addition to the Red Cross donor center currently in Boise.
A Twin Falls facility will include four donor beds and serve as a staging site for Magic Valley blood drives. Currently, Red Cross teams commute from Boise to Twin Falls-area drives so this new facility will reduce those costs. Magic Valley donors contribute significant amounts of blood despite a relatively small population, making this a strategic location for expansion.
One of those helped recently by Red Cross blood donors was Shandra Sterner of Twin Falls. Shortly after giving birth to her son, Sterner began to bleed uncontrollably. She would need seven surgeries and 88 units of blood before the source of her bleeding could be identified and repaired.
“I never knew how blood donation could change your life in a split second, but ultimately it did,” the mother of four said. “It saved my life.”
To learn more about the Idaho expansion campaign and lend your support, visit .
Montana upgrades
Red Cross is also upgrading two Montana blood collection facilities. In November, Red Cross unveiled a new donor center in Bozeman that accommodates two more donor beds, state-of-the-art technology and additional staff.Â
Major upgrades are also under way at the Great Falls Donor Center and Laboratory. This project will improve the donor experience and make it more efficient to process and distribute lifesaving blood. Blood collected at drives across Montana comes back to Great Falls for testing before being delivered to hospitals across the state. This facility hasn’t seen a renovation of this magnitude since the 1970s, and these upgrades will benefit hospitals and blood recipients across Montana.
To learn more and support these upgrades, visit .
