Blood drive at Kemper CPA to help with donation shortages – Hendricks County ICON – Web Edition

By Lindsay Doty

Just three days after she was born, little Mariah Roberts was fighting for her life. The little girl was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia, an inherited blood disorder that occurs particularly in people of African descent and can be fatal.

Fortunately, in Indiana, Mariah received two blood transfusions that relieved her pain and alleviated her complications, according to the Versiti Blood Center of Indiana. Her parents, Chris and Tamara, who were dedicated blood donors before Mariah was born, are now spreading the importance of donating blood, especially in the African American community. “It is our duty to donate blood,” says Mariah’s mother Tamara. “We take it upon ourselves that someone helped our daughter, so now we’re doing it in return.”

The Roberts family is just one example of the importance of donating blood. Since the pandemic, blood centers have been reporting critical shortages, including the Versiti Blood Center of Indiana, the blood product supplier to more than 90 hospital partners across Indiana, including hospitals in Hendricks County.

“Due to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Versiti’s mobile blood draws have decreased by more than 16,000 units this year, including more than 4,500 units in Indiana alone,” said Kristin Paltzer, Versiti PR manager. “To maintain a three-day supply of life-saving blood, Versiti requires an average of 10,500 donors per week across its presence, including over 2,300 in Indiana.”

To increase the numbers, the center encourages the community’s blood donors. On November 5th, the organization will team up with the Kemper CPA Group in Avon to host a ride in their office parking lot on Dan Jones Road on November 5th. Turning a new leaf fall into a tavern will help aid the fight against cancer.

“As we enter the Thanksgiving season, we made a decision to review the immediate needs in our community and the concerns that are currently dear to our employees,” said Carrie Hanni of the Kemper CPA Group. “We made a decision to acknowledge the tragedies and struggles of cancer patients. To support them, we decided that it would be helpful to have a blood drive here in our office. We hope that we can pack the bus here on November 5th, because blood is so important for cancer patients and is currently so scarce, ”said Hanni.

The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and includes food and community. Masks are required in the Blutmobil.

“Community blood drives are extremely important to our life-saving mission as they allow us to reach more donors outside of a fixed location,” added Paltzer.

Hendricks County’s businesses, churches, and local organizations have all continued to help.

Places like the Brownsburg Public Library hold blood drives for the center every six to eight weeks.

“One of the ways the community can solve the blood shortage is through regular blood donation drives,” said Sobia Khan, adult information services assistant at Brownsburg Public Library.

She says the local public library is the perfect place because two of its goals are outreach and education.

“By running blood donation campaigns, we can achieve both goals with a single event. The bottom line is that we need to get as many people as possible to donate whenever they can. The library is a place where they can do that easily, ”said Khan.

Turn a new leaf fall into a blood drive

When: 10 am-3pm November 5th

Where: Kemper CPA Group Parking Lot, 625 S. Dan Jones Road, Avon

What: Blood drive, barbecue and community.

Mask compulsory in the blood mobile

Call (317) 839-9136

Can’t donate? Bring stationery for Family Promise of Hendricks County