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Photo by Eric Engman

Photo by Eric Engman

Photo by Eric Engman

FAIRBANKS — Despite the best of intentions, excuses can pile up as fast as the blank lines in an appointment book.

Add crazy kids’ schedules, long commutes and a yearning for a little R&R, and it’s no wonder the Blood Bank of Alaska is willing to visit donors at work, where bank vaults fill far more rapidly than when techs wait for individual donors to come to them.

They’ll only take a pint at a time, but each pint is a unit closer to the 2,200 units required to meet in-state needs each month, blood bank assistant manager Christi Taylor said.

A quick screening ensures only qualified donors are turned over to a tech with a needle.

“I’ve donated blood before,” state administrative clerk Bill Hunt said. An employee of the district attorney’s office in Fairbanks, Hunt admits he really hates needles but believes in giving blood regardless. “But it’s so hard, because of their hours. By coming to us, they made it so much easier.”

The bank has hosted drives in the Fairbanks community since June 2005, a service that has proven effective.

“We’re much more successful when we go to donors,” Taylor said. “It’s a matter of convenience and removing barriers.”

Regular, repeat donors often are called when the bank needs to replenish supplies. But well-meaning people who aren’t on the call list can’t always follow through on those good intentions, she pointed out. On-site drives help busy adults keep after-hours schedules and meet other commitments. Plus, the bank captures more new, regular donors at on-location drives, Taylor said.

Hunt helped organizer Marja Hallsten, a paralegal in the DA’s office, round up more than 26 people willing to give blood.

Staff from the probation, public defender’s and child care licensing offices also offered arms for the four-hour drive.

Knowing the bank will draw from his own office made signing up a real commitment for Hunt. Plus, he said, sign-ups generated office conversation and seemed to form a sense of a team accomplishment, which may have encouraged even more people to give.

Hunt said he hopes other businesses realize the bank will go to them.

“Hopefully, the blood bank will get plenty of blood,” he said. “They call me all the time and say they need blood.”

Taylor confirmed that the Blood Bank of Alaska is always searching for fresh supplies. It sounds a little gruesome, but blood expires after only 42 days and must then be discarded.

That means regular donors are — no pun intended — the bank’s lifeblood.

Blood Bank of Alaska is the state’s only collection facility, Taylor said. Technicians try to attain a minimum of 2,200 units a month to meet the state’s needs.

“Unfortunately, there is no substitute for human blood, so there is a need,” Taylor said. “Sometimes, we’re down to a one-day supply, which can be pretty scary.”

Freshly drawn blood can’t be used for three days until testing clears the donation, she said. That’s part of the reason regular donations are so critical.

Businesses interested in scheduling a drive can call Blood Bank of Alaska community coordinator Felicia Rodriguez at 456-5645, ext. 29. At least 20 donors have to sign up to give during a four-hour period in order for a business to host a drive. In addition, technicians will need a well-lit room about the size of a small classroom and require an elevator.