La Grande gets closer to 1,000-unit milestone during two-day blood drive

Published 7:00 pm Saturday, September 17, 2022

LA GRANDE — The community of La Grande remains on pace to achieve what may be its best year for blood donations in at least two decades.

A total of 248 units of blood were collected during a two-day American Red Cross blood drive in La Grande on Tuesday, Sept. 13, and Wednesday, Sept. 14, boosting the number of units donated during 2022 in four two-day drives to 926.

“We are really grateful for the community response,” said Sheldon Strand, who coordinates the La Grande drives with his wife, Linda Strand.

The strong results mean La Grande, with one blood drive remaining in 2022, is on track to collect 1,157.5 units for the year, 192.5 units more than the 965 units collected in 2021 and 514.5 more than the total of 643 donated in 2020.

The September success represents the second highest total collected in at least the last eight years, Sheldon Strand said. The highest total for a blood draw in the past eight years is the 260 units drawn at a two-day event in November 2021.