Sonoma Raceway and its fans helped saved lives throughout Northern California on Monday as more than 50 people donated blood at the raceway's 19th annual Vitalant High-Speed Blood Drive.
Sonoma Raceway and Vitalant (formerly Blood Centers of the Pacific) teamed up on the drive, which garnered 68 total units of blood. Since 2001, the High-Speed Blood Drive has generated approximately 1,418 pints of blood for area blood banks. Below are just a few of the recent stories of patients who benefit from blood donated at blood drives:
- One recent patient used 100 units of O+ blood type with an aortic aneurism.
- A 56 year old woman with a GI hemorrhage used four units AB+
- A 65 year old male with Glomerular disease used 10 units of A+
- Another O+ patient had a difficult cardiac surgery which required a large amount of screened units.
- A 33 year old woman with Sepsis received three units of O+
- A B+ 31 year old female undergoing treatment for cervical cancer received two units.
There was an extra treat for all donors on Monday: a high-speed lap around the 12-turn road course in a Toyota Camry with a professional driving instructor.
"Thanks to the support of Sonoma Raceway, the real winners are the patients in need of blood," said Fred McFadden, regional director at Vitalant. "Every day there are local patients who are given a second chance and countless lives are touched because of the generous donors who gave a little time out of their day to give."
Vitalant Bay Area supplies blood to over 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.
For more information on donating blood with Vitalant, visit www.vitalant.org.