The Rhode Island Blood Center saw a surge of donations in the wake of Saturday’s shooting at Brown University. On Sunday and Monday, the center saw 760 red blood cell donations, 200 percent above the normal level on those days of the week.
Longtime employees of the blood bank say the response reminds them of past tragedies.
“9/11, The Station Fire, and now this, have been the biggest responses I have seen since being here,” said Amy Goldman, a manager at the blood center. “It’s heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.”
Hunter Shaffer, vice president of Divisional Operations, said that the scene on Sunday was “profound.”
“It was snowing out, and there were kids that … walked from campus,” said Shaffer. “I met someone who was in the building where the shooting took place. He had come here to donate.”
Hundreds of students, staff, and community members showed up, Shaffer said. The bank moved quickly to accommodate the surge in donors. When their waiting room filled, they opened their cafeteria for seating. Conference rooms were turned into interview booths, and other spaces were repurposed for collecting donations.
On Tuesday, Audrey Marano from Cranston reclined in the donor room, squeezing a stress ball as she gave blood. She hadn’t donated blood in a while, she said, and felt compelled to make a trip because of Saturday’s shooting.
“I felt like it was important to do something instead of sharing my post and my prayers,” she said. It was also her first time doing a “double red” donation, a type of blood collection where twice as many red blood cells can be donated in one session.
Sarah Filliettaz-Domingues, 29, drove an hour and 20 minutes from Halifax, Mass. to donate. She said she and her parents used to donate frequently; she remembers spending her fifth birthday at an American Red Cross. But before Tuesday, she hadn’t donated in years.
“I saw it all over Instagram, about the shooting and there was a huge shortage. I’m O-Positive….It’s not necessarily liquid gold, but it’s close enough,” she said.
In a large room flanked with refrigerators of blood products, Melonie DiMartino, the manager of the blood bank’s hospital services department, monitored a screen listing hospital orders. Squeals of packing tape rang out as staff members packaged processed donations to be sent out. DiMartino was one of the blood bank’s staff-members who responded to the Brown University shooting.
Saturday’s shooting wasn’t her first crisis, DiMartino explained. She had worked through 9/11, The Station Nightclub Fire, and the Boston Marathon Bombing. Following 9/11, the lab received about 776 units of donations, she recalled. She was working in the center’s lab at the time. “I was here until three o’clock in the morning that day,” she said.
When The Station Nightclub burned in February of 2003, she remembered another surge in donations. She remembered sending a lot of fresh frozen-plasma, one of the multiple blood products the center can make out of a blood donation, to the hospital. The product is especially helpful for burn victims.
On Saturday, DiMartino’s team launched into action when they got the call from Rhode Island Hospital about the shooting. They initiated their crisis protocol, initially sending 40 units of red blood cells, plus additional blood products. Then, they continued to check in with the hospital every hour. They would go on to send more than 120 units of blood, platelets, and plasma, according to the blood center.
The large order for blood came at a time when the bank experienced low levels of supply, Shaffer said. The bank has had critically low blood levels since November. And in September, rather than a 5-day blood supply, the goal level of stock, the bank dropped down to a day-and-a-half supply, Shaffer said.
“If this had happened during September, it would’ve been a catastrophe,” Shaffer added.
Now, thanks to the recent surge in donations, the bank’s levels are recovering. Shaffer and DiMartino proudly showed the small refrigerated room where processed blood products are stored. Racks with blue bins, filled with pouches, lined the walls.
They stress that the need for blood is continuous: processed red blood cells can only be refrigerated for 42 days. The bank continues to need blood, especially Type O-Positive, O-Negative, and B-Negative Blood.
In the wake of the recent uptick in donations, DiMartino felt conflicted. She is glad to have so many donors, but is concerned about retaining them. She doesn’t want to face shortages again.
“I felt this way during 9/11,” she said. “It’s great that people are coming out and I want everyone to do the right thing. I just want them to continue to do the right thing.”
