LifeServe celebrates 75 years

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) - LifeServe Blood Center started its first blood donation in 1947, when four Des Moines area hospitals formed the Polk County Blood Donor Service with a Des Moines grocer, Ike Smalls.

Seventy-five years later, LifeServe works with 157 hospitals in the tri-state area. LifeServe relies on donors and needs around 200,000 donors a year. The average amount of pints given in a year is 155,000 units of blood, platelets and plasma.

Last year, the hospitals partnered with LifeServe used 87,257 units of blood. And each unit, which is about a pint of blood, impacted up to three lives. Meaning LifeServe’s efforts potentially affected over 261,000 people.

“You know 75 years of saving lives with our communities has done wonders for our patients and the hospitals we serve in,” said Anjeanette Barto, director of donor services, LifeServe.

LifeServe opened its first South Dakota location in Yankton, South Dakota last year, with plans to open several more locations in the coming months.

For one employee of LifeServe, the donations and impact of LifeServe mean more to him.

“For me, it’s not a job, it’s more a mission there was one point in my life where I was in the hospital for seven months and used six gallons of blood, so for me, if I did not receive those units of blood, I definitely wouldn’t be here,” said Curt Green, a driver with LifeServe.

Green said while some may fear the needle, that is outweighed by the feeling of helping someone out, maybe even saving a life.

Siouxland Blood Center has been around since 1967 and merged with Blood Center of Iowa to become LifeServe Blood Center in 2010.

An appointment can be made at lifeservebloodcenter.org, by calling 1-800-287-4903, or by visiting any of their locations.

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