The Blood Donation service Vitalant offered a free pint of ice cream for donating blood Monday at the Vitalant office in San Luis Obispo.
“It’s a good experience. It’s positive. Our staff is fantastic. They’ll make you feel really comfortable and it’s an incredible thing you can do,” Vitalant Senior Donor Recruitment Manager Mona Kleman said. “You can actually literally save a life in less than an hour.”
Vitalant partnered with Doc Burstein’s Ice Cream Lab for the blood drive. Doc Burstein’s has been a supporter for 13 years after joining the monthly blood drives in 2003. These drives take place in San Luis Obispo, Arroyo Grande and Santa Maria. The blood drive accepts all blood types and is also in need of platelet donations.
“We count on our donors and we count on our community to come out and to help us keep that supply ample. It saves patients in our hospitals. It saves our sister centers when there are disasters in other areas or accidents where they need help,” Vitalant Senior Donor Recruitment Manager Mona Kleman said. “So the need for blood is ongoing. It never goes away and that’s what we do here.”
The drive started at 1 p.m. and went until 5 p.m. on Monday. Blood donors received a voucher for a free pint of ice cream from Doc Burstein’s.
To donate blood, platelets or plasma, contact Vitalant to make an appointment. The last appointment or walk-in is taken 15 minutes before donor center closes.
To make appointments to donate, call 805 543-4920.
