American Red Cross in Utah launches effort to encourage blood donations from Latino population

SALT LAKE CITY — The American Red Cross is always in need of blood donations, and now the Utah chapter of the organization is making a special push to encourage the Latino population to give.

The new initiative, Los Donantes, or The Donors in English, "is about building awareness, encouraging participation and making sure more people see blood donation as something that matters in their community," said Heidi Ruster, chief executive officer of the American Red Cross Utah/Nevada Region.

Benjamin Donner, executive director of the American Red Cross for central and southern Utah, said the initiative is spurred in part by the relatively high share of the Latino population that has O-type blood, whether positive or negative.

O-negative and O-positive blood types are most commonly used in transfusions "and in the Latino population, about 57% of that population has these types of blood," Donner said. "I don't always know if the Latino population in general knows how valuable they are in helping the community and taking care of our neighbors, especially in emergency situations."

According to the Stanford Blood Center, originally part of the Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, California, 44% of the overall population has O-type blood, including 37.4% with O-positive blood and 6.6% with O-negative blood. O-negative blood, in particular, can be used by people with any blood type when they need transfusions.

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American Red Cross officials in Utah announced the launch of Los Donantes on April 1, and it parallels similar outreach efforts to the Latino community elsewhere around the country, according to Donner. The campaign is to last through June 30 and comes during a period, the spring, when it can be particularly hard to maintain a stable blood supply, according to the American Red Cross.

Donner said Los Donantes calls for increased outreach efforts to Latinos to encourage them to donate blood. From May 1-17, donors at the Salt Lake Blood Donation Center will get Los Donantes T-shirts, while supplies last. For more information on donating blood go to redcross.org/giveblood or call 1-800-733-2767.

The need for donated blood is continual, and just 3% of the population typically donates, according to Donner.

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