Donors needed for Vitalant & Landon’s Light Foundation summer blood drive

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – A simple trip to the mall can end up helping save a life.

Vitalant and Landon’s Light Foundation have once again teamed up for a summer blood drive at West Acres.

“The summertime is such a difficult time to get donors in the door and we’re really counting on first-timers to come out and roll up their sleeves and give it a chance,” said Vitalant Regional Director Jennifer Bredahl.

A chance to help save a life through a blood donation.

“When there’s a critical need in our community, I just think it’s the best way to give back right now to those families that really need their loved one to survive,” Landon’s Light Foundation Executive Director Mary Ellen Rolfson said.

The need for blood is always there but right now, that need is heightened.

“We have went through a difficult time coming off of COVID. A lot of the businesses aren’t back up and going. We haven’t gotten back into high schools and colleges,” explained Bredahl. “Typically, that’s a great way to get donors to come in through the spring and fall, and we’ve struggled to have that happen for us, so we’ve just really struggled along the way.”

Vitalant is now in a critical need of donors.

“We are doing whatever we can to make sure that doctors don’t have to make that decision of who’s going to get the blood and who’s not,” Bredahl said.

Those with Landon’s Light Foundation are doing what they can to make sure children who may be in the same position Landon Solberg once was to get the critical blood they need.

The 10-year-old West Fargo boy passed away in 2019 after a battle with brain cancer.

“A lot of the kids that we serve, they need blood products, so it’s a really important cause for Vitalant, our community and for Landon’s Light Foundation,” added Rolfson.

You can donate to the drive Thursday anytime between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. or Friday from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Click here to sign up.