Despite its own operations being impacted by both Kona Low storms last month, Blood Bank of Hawaiʻi is offering an incentive to giving blood this month: For every blood donation made through the end of April, the local nonprofit will make a financial gift to Hawaiʻi Community Foundation’s Stronger Hawaiʻi Fund, aiding those affected by the storms.
BBH President and CEO Kim-Anh Nguyen said this disaster touches many lives across the Islands.
“I live in Mānoa and people saw the video footage of Mānoa Marketplace underwater,” she said. “We have friends and families on the Neighbor Islands. We have staff whose families live on the North Shore. We ourselves felt this in our lives and wanted to be part of the recovery.”
She approached HCF CEO and President Terry George to ask how they could help.
“We are deeply grateful to the Blood Bank of Hawaiʻi for their generosity and partnership in support of the Stronger Hawaiʻi Fund,” he said in a statement. “Their innovative approach to engaging their donors reflects a shared commitment to building a more resilient Hawaiʻi, one where communities are supported before, during and long after disaster.”
As of April 8, nearly $400,000 has been awarded from the fund to nonprofits supporting storm recovery efforts.
Nguyen told Aloha State Daily that “Donors save lives, and we hope to build the community. It’s a win-win.”
Collections have decreased due to inclement weather over the last few weeks, she said, adding that more donors have missed or canceled their appointments, blood drives were postponed and bloodmobiles consolidated.
“BBH encourages donors to come out and donate only if they feel safe to drive/travel,” per the nonprofit, which for 85 years has been the sole provider of blood across Hawaiʻi and Guam hospitals. It is also the oldest community blood bank in the U.S.
Nguyen notes that the state has about one week of supply on its shelves — half at BBH and the other half at Hawaiʻi's civilian hospitals — which comes from 100 to 150 donors per day.
“Every single day, that’s how many people we need to roll up their sleeves. … We really depend on donors to still be safe, but to come out and honor their appointments.”
Blood is highly perishable. According to American Red Cross, red blood cells used for trauma, surgery, anemia and blood disorders, can last up to 44 days refrigerated; platelets, used for cancer treatments and organ transplants, lasts up to five days at room temperature; and plasma, which is used for burn patients, can be stored for up to a year when frozen.
During long power outages in March at its Young Street Donation Center and new headquarters in Kapolei, BBH did not lose blood supply, according to Nguyen.
“One of the reasons we built our new headquarters from the ground up was to have a larger, more secure, higher-capacity facility to process the blood. We were not impacted thanks to backup generators and fuel tank.”
After two years of construction, the blood bank’s new 19,000-square-foot headquarters, called The Clarence T.C. Ching Building, opened on March 19. The facility has ultra-low freezers that can store blood products for up to 10 years, a feature that is mostly used for rare blood types.
Nguyen is also excited for the upcoming blood drive set for April 14-16 on Kauaʻi. To make an appointment, click here.
Looking ahead, she hopes to grow BBH’s workforce development program and open a donation center in Kapolei.
The monthlong partnership with HCF will apply to all donations made at BBH’s Young Street Donor Center, Waikele Center, mobile drives on Oʻahu, Lifesaver Clubs, high school blood drives and the upcoming drive on Kauaʻi from April 14-16. The monetary donation will be announced at the end of the month.
BBH reported a total revenue of $23.9 million for the 2024 fiscal year, per ProPublica.
For more information, visit bbh.org or call 808-848-4770.
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Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros can be reached at kelsey@alohastatedaily.com.
