New blood, platelet donation center now open in Tacoma’s West End
A new blood-donation center has opened in Tacoma’s West End.
Bloodworks Northwest, a nonprofit with donation centers across Western Washington, has opened its newest center at 2207 N. Pearl St., Suite 100.
The location is the only donor center in Tacoma where donors can give platelets, a lifesaving blood component that’s often used to help cancer patients and trauma victims, according to Bloodworks Northwest.
Platelets have a shelf life of five to seven days, compared to whole blood’s shelf life of up to 42 days. That means hospitals have a constant need for platelet donors, according to Harry Thomas, vice president of marketing and community engagement at Bloodworks Northwest.
Bloodworks Northwest supplies blood to 95% of the hospitals across Western Washington, including all the hospitals in Pierce County.
The organization has been holding mobile clinics in Tacoma but decided to open a brick-and-mortar location, Thomas said. The organization has one other Pierce County donation center in Puyallup, which also collects platelet donations.
Any interested platelet donor can start with donating whole blood. The lab will then look at the platelet count in the blood to decide whether the donor will make a good candidate for platelet donation.
Platelet donation is longer, taking up to two hours, while whole blood donation takes about 10 minutes. But you can also donate platelets every 7 days, more often than donating whole blood every 56 days.
Bloodworks Northwest in Tacoma also takes plasma donations and “super red” donations, where donors can give twice as much blood as regular whole blood donations.
The Tacoma location started taking donors on May 25 and has a grand opening planned for June 9. Speakers at the grand opening include Boden Clark, a Gig Harbor local who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2020 and relied on blood transfusions throughout his treatment.
“When I was diagnosed, about 98% of my blood was cancerous,” Clark said. “Being able to continue getting platelets was really, really important.”
The Tacoma location is expected to produce 2,700 donations of blood and platelets in its first year, according to a news release.
Hours for the new location are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, and closed Thursday and Friday. The hours will expand as the center gets more donors, Thomas said.
Lots of people don’t know how impactful it can be to donate blood and platelets, Thomas said.
“It’s the easiest opportunity to save someone’s life,” Thomas said. “Yes, some people may have a fear of needles, but … that’s not a huge barrier to get over compared to the benefit [that] the blood is going to go to someone who really needs it.”
