Type it! With SBMF at the Elkhart County 4H fair on Friday

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know my blood type. I first donated blood in college and I’m sure I didn’t know my blood type before then, but I guess it didn’t really matter.

Now that I work at South Bend Medical Foundation, it sort of shocks me when a potential donor doesn’t know what type of blood he or she has.

On Friday, July 29^th, South Bend Medical Foundation will be typing blood in the Elkhart General Hospital’s “Healthy Lifestyle Tent” at the Elkhart County 4-H Fair from 9am until 8pm. 

 The blood typing system will require those being screened to have a small pin prick to produce a drop of blood. Once the blood is placed on a special testing paper, the donor will be notified of his or her blood type.

Why is blood type important? There are eight different types of blood including A, A-, B+, B-, AB+, AB-, O+ and O-. The + are read as positive and the – is read as a negative.

Each person has one of these blood types. I have O negative blood which means that I can give blood to anyone else, but I can only receive blood from other O negative donors. But it doesn’t work like that for everyone. My blood type, O-, is the universal donor so everyone can accept it. But recipients with a type of B- can only receive O- and B- blood and can only donate to other B- recipients. It gets a little complicated, but is important because if you need a transfusion and are given the wrong type it could cause huge complications.

So if I’ve caught your curiosity at all, you might be wondering what donor types can give blood to others or receive blood from others, right? Well here goes:

If you have type AB+ blood, you are in luck because you can receive all types of blood. There are only 3.4% of people in the population with this type of blood.

Those with AB- are the rarest blood type with only .6% accounting for the population. People with this type are able to receive blood from AB-, A-, B- and AB- donors and are able to donate to those with AB- and AB+ types.

At the opposite end of the spectrum as far as “popular” blood types is A+. Approximately 37.4% of the United States population has A+ blood type. Many people think that since they are A+ and it isn’t a rare blood type or a universal blood type that they don’t need to donate. However, since it is a very popular blood type, it means that you should donate blood because more people are in need of it! A+ donors can give to AB+ recipients and A+, and can receive blood from those who are A+, O+, A- and O-.

The 6.3% of the population who have A- blood are able to give blood to AB+, AB-, A+ and A- recipients, and are eligible to receive blood from only two types. Know what they are? If you guessed A- and O- then you are correct.

With the second rarest blood type, those in the United States with type B- blood only account for 1.5% of the population. If you have type B- blood, stick close to people with types B- and O- because you can only give and receive these types of blood.

Finally, since we already talked about O- blood, which is the universal donor and can be given to anyone, we’re left with O+.  While O- donors account for 6.6% of the population, O+ donors account for 37.4% of the population with the most common blood type. While O+ can be given to all of the positive types, it can only receive O- and O+ types.

There is a lot to be said for the typing process! Before it was figured out, people had reactions and sometimes died during transfusions.

Join South Bend Medical Foundation on July 29^th at the Healthy Lifestyles tent from 9am until 8pm, on Rotary Blvd at the fairgrounds.

Free food and extra chances to win the Ford Focus when you donate at Jordan tomorrow

What has mirrors, a brilliant red exterior and a paper plate?

It isn’t a goofy science experiment or your leftover dinner. It’s the beautiful brand new 2012 Ford Focus which you are eligible to win when you donate blood at South Bend Medical Foundation before August 26th.

During your lunch hour on Friday, July 8th, stop by Jordan Automotive Group at 609 East Jefferson in Mishawaka and enjoy food and refreshments while you donate blood between 11am and 2pm. Not only will you be saving the lives of others, but you will also be eligible to win the 2012 Ford Focus at the end of the summer. But wait, it gets even better because South Bend Medical Foundation will be giving away extra chances to win the Focus during the blood drive.

The vehicle is a 2012 Ford Focus 4-Door Sedan SE with an automatic transmission, cruise control, 15” wheels, Halogen headlights, rear window defroster, power windows and mirrors, AM/FM stereo single CD/MP3, auxiliary audio input jack, air conditioning, cloth bucket seats (front), 60/40 split Ford rear seat, tilt steering, power door locks with remote keyless entry, and anti-lock brakes.

If you aren’t in the market for a new vehicle, don’t worry, there is a $10,000 cash option.
For complete information about the raffle visit http://www.givebloodnow.com/

Remembering Ava

 Although Ava Zimmerman was only alive for a short time, her courage touched the lives of her family and her community.  On July 6^th, Ava’s family and their friends will come together at the Niles Inn from 2pm until 7pm to remember and honor the little girl who only lived 93 days.

September 29, 2007 was one of the happiest days in Jamie Zimmerman’s life. Jamie and her husband, Jamie, and son Brayden welcomed Ava into their family. But what seemed to be one of the happiest days soon turned the Zimmerman family upside down.   

The nurses found what they believed to be a heart murmur and recommended that Ava be taken to the University of Michigan Mott Children’s Hospital, about a three drive away. At just two days old, Ava had her first surgery to attempt to correct her Interrupted Aortic Arch and Truncus Arteriosis. She came out surgery and seemed to be doing better until about her seventh week when doctors discovered that Ava’s truncal valve which replaced her aortic valve was leaking and she needed to have another operation.

“After Ava was born and we found out she had heart defects, our world came crumbling down. It is a parent’s worst nightmare and we naively believed that something like this would never happen to us. Now we know how rough life can be and that you never know what tragedy life might bring your way,” said Ava’s mother, Jamie.

This operation presented some unexpected complications and Ava endured a twelve hour operation which left her too weak and she was placed on an ECMO machine, a form of life support.

“At this point we were still hopeful that she had a chance to survive as the staff believed that if her heart was given a rest on ECMO, then maybe it would recuperate,” said Jamie.

Instead, Ava developed sepsis and antibiotic treatments to cure it were unsuccessful.

“On January 2, 2008, we made a futile attempt to allow Ava’s heart to function on its own as we trialed her off ECMO. We knew the chances of this working were slim and we soon had to say our goodbyes to our precious baby girl. I held her in my arms as they took her off life support,” said Jamie.

Jamie and her husband looked for ways to give meaning and purpose to young Ava’s short life. They donated all of Jamie’s breast milk to the hospital’s milk bank for children who were sick.  They participated in several 5k runs, helped with Ronald McDonald House, Hearts of Hope and several other charities.

Now, the Zimmerman’s focus on two events each year to honor and remember Ava. The blood drive, which takes place each summer, first began on what would have been Ava’s 10 month anniversary. Over 75 people attended the first blood drive and each year the drive attracts people who want to show their support for the Zimmerman family. The blood drive at Niles Inn on July 6^th will be the fourth annual Ava Zimmerman Blood Drive.

Their goal for the blood drive is to recruit more and more people each year to help people in the community. 

Jamie began the blood drives, “because of Ava’s numerous transfusions, at least a dozen of different varieties, I thought this would be a great way to give back to the community and to keep her in the minds and hearts of all the people who had supported us through our tragic experience,” said Jamie.

In addition to the yearly blood drive, Jamie and her husband organize an annual poker run which funds, “Ava’s Heart Foundation” at Mott Children’s Hospital.  To date, they have raised $18,000 from the poker runs and the fund helps other families of heart patients.

“I would like everyone to know what a strong, beautiful angel Ava is, although I know her followers during the time she was alive already realize that. The only thing we know for sure is that Ava’s spirit is still alive in all of us. Brayden helps us find glimpses of his sister in everyday things such as butterflies, pennies, dandelions, hearts and flowers,” said Jamie.

The Zimmerman’s welcomed Ava’s baby brother, Avary, into the family about a year ago and are sure he will help spread Ava’s spirit to the world, as well.

If you would like to make an appointment to donate blood in honor of Ava Zimmerman call 269.876.2317 or make an appointment online at http://bit.ly/AZBldDrive.  Walk-ins are welcome to donate on July 6^th at the Niles Inn, 930 South 11^th Street in Niles from 2:00pm until 7:00pm.

All donors will be entered into South Bend Medical Foundation’s summer promotion and will be eligible for the raffle to win the 2012 Ford Focus from Jordan Automotive Group.  For more information about the promotion visit www.GiveBloodNow.com