okPORK Hosts Pre-Memorial Day Blood Drive as State Battles COVID-19
By Chelsea Mabry
This year marked the 14th annual Pre-Memorial Day Blood Drive partnership between the Oklahoma Pork Council and the Oklahoma Blood Institute. This two-day event is crucial for boosting the blood supply in Oklahoma, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With COVID-19 hitting Oklahoma in March, the blood supply levels have been increasingly low. Several okPORK events had been canceled but the Pre-Memorial Day Blood Drive would not be one of them. With no substitution for blood and multiple blood drive cancelations across the state it was imperative to have a successful turnout. 1,340 Oklahomans gathered around the state to donate blood. Thanks to a record-breaking blood drive, 4,020 lives were saved.
“This year more than ever, we knew how important it was to make an impact on the blood supply in Oklahoma,” said Roy Lee Lindsey, executive director at okPORK. “During such an uncertain time for our state, okPORK wanted to make sure we were connecting with the community members to help save lives.”
In order to expect others to donate blood during the drive okPORK needed to be involved firsthand, Lindsey said.
okPORK employees and board members participated in the event by serving lunches at the mobile locations, making promotional videos and donating blood.
Each person who donated had their choice of pulled pork, carnitas or pork burgers for lunch, a free vintage bacon t-shirt, a free voucher to their choice of one admission to Science Museum Oklahoma or two admissions to Safari Joe’s H2O Water Park and were entered into a raffle to win a smoker.
“As Oklahoma makes strides to overcome the effects of this pandemic, we truly count on our community partners to help us make up for blood drives we lost during the height of the coronavirus outbreak,” said Dr. John Armitage, president and CEO Oklahoma Blood Institute.
The giving spirit of Oklahoma Pork Council has boosted our efforts to make sure no patient in our state goes without the transfusion care they need. We are so proud to team up with an organization that lives the mission of the Oklahoma Standard.”
As the state begins to open up again it is important to continue donating blood. Visit our website, okpork.org, for more community efforts and events.
