For Immediate Release
Contact:
Brooke Way
Vitalant Communications Manager
303.918.5835
BWay@vitalant.org
pio@dcsheriff.net
Contact:
Deborah Takahara
Public Information Director
Douglas County Sheriff’s Office
720-362-0994
CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (March 18, 2024) — The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and Vitalant are partnering for the department’s first blood drive to support fellow enforcement officers and patients in the community. Eligible donors are encouraged to sign up to give blood and help ensure Colorado patients get the lifesaving transfusions they depend on.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Blood Drive will be held at the Douglas County Fairgrounds Event Center at 500 Fairgrounds Road in Castle Rock on Wednesday March 20, 2024, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
“We jumped at the chance to host a blood drive with Vitalant,” Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly said. “We have several personal stories within the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office of employees’ lives being saved by blood donations. Your contribution could save a life, whether it be for a law enforcement officer or someone in need within our community.”
“We are grateful for our partnership with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, and we are honored that several deputies have shared their personal stories with us as to why blood donation was so vital in their own lives,” Vitalant Mountain Division Vice President Anne Burtchaell said. “This drive will help raise awareness about the need for blood for patients including our own first responders wounded in the line of duty.”
Every two seconds, a patient in the U.S. needs blood, and it’s the blood already on the shelf that helps in an emergency, such as what Deputy Jeff Pelle experienced in the line of duty. When he was shot on New Year’s Eve in 2017, he suffered a collapsed lung, a lacerated liver, and multiple shattered and broken ribs. When he arrived at the hospital, he lost five pints of blood and received a massive blood transfusion.
“I would not be alive today without this donation,” Deputy Pelle said. “I have two daughters who are here today because of the blood transfusion I received. My family would not be here today if it were not for those who donated blood to help me on my worst day.”
Douglas County Sheriff’s Deputy Dan Brite was shot in the line of duty and required 18 pints of blood to save his life. Blood is also needed constantly for patients undergoing surgery, organ transplants, cancer patients recovering from treatment, and those with blood disorders. Douglas County Sheriff Deputy Telayna Luttrell received several blood transfusions for auto-immune disorders including Lupus.
“While I am never allowed to donate blood due to my health, I rely heavily on the gifts others donate so that I may survive when my disease flares again,” Deputy Luttrell said.
To support the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and patients in Colorado, make an appointment to give blood by visiting: donors.vitalant.org, or using the blood drive code: 10055761. Donors can also download the Vitalant app or call 877-25-VITAL (877-258-4825).
If you can’t make it on the day of the blood drive, you can also sign up to participate in the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Virtual Blood Drive. Virtual Blood Drives allow donors to give blood when and where it’s convenient for them. Simply pledge to give blood in support of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office by clicking on the pledge link
About The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office:
The goal of the Sheriff’s Office is to provide a fresh and proactive approach to law enforcement by expanding our services to the residents of Douglas County. We can achieve this goal by utilizing the vast experience from our diverse employee base. By working together as a community, the men and women of the sheriff’s office provide the highest possible level of service to all residents and visitors.
About Vitalant
Vitalant (Vye-TAL-ent)) is one of the nation’s largest nonprofit blood and biotherapies healthcare organizations, providing hospitals and patients across the U.S. a safe blood supply, specialized laboratory services, transfusion medicine expertise and world-renowned research. Individuals generously donating blood, volunteering and giving financially are essential to our lifesaving mission. Learn more at vitalant.org.
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