Sonoma Raceway and its fans helped generate more than 72 units of critical blood donations for Northern California hospitals and medical facilities on Oct. 1, during the 20th annual Vitalant High-Speed Blood Drive.
Sonoma Raceway and Vitalant joined forces in an effort to bolster local donations during the blood shortage brought on by COVID-19. The blood drive welcomed more than 65 individual donors, with more than 20 being first-time donors. The High-Speed Blood Drive has generated approximately 1,490 pints of blood for area blood banks since 2001.
Below are just a few of the recent stories of patients who benefit from blood donated at blood drives:
- 50-year-old man with gastro-intestinal bleeding received a transfusion, providing him with 12 red cell units, three platelet units, and 12 plasma units.
- 24-year-old woman needing mitral valve replacement, consisting of two red cell units, two platelet units, and six plasma units.
- 67-year-old man with coronavirus and pneumonia needed eight red cell units, eight platelet units, and eight plasma units.
Blood donors got their hearts pumping prior to donating with a high-speed lap around the 12-turn road course in a KTMX-BOW with a professional driving instructor.
“We’re still experiencing the impacts of the pandemic with fewer community blood drives able to be held,” said Fred McFadden, regional director for Vitalant. “Having Sonoma Raceway’s continued support is vital to maintaining a strong blood supply so patients can rely on it whenever it is needed.”
Vitalant Bay Area supplies blood to more than 45 hospitals throughout Northern California. Founded in 1943, Vitalant is one of the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit transfusion medicine organizations, and provides blood across 40 states. Vitalant is an internationally known and respected leader that continues to push the boundaries to advance the experience, practice and application of transfusion medicine.
