Thurston County proclaims Feb. 14 National Donor Day and urges residents to give blood

Thurston County’s Board of Health on Feb. 11 read a proclamation declaring Feb. 14, 2025, National Donor Day in the county and urged residents to donate blood to support local hospitals.

The proclamation — introduced by Dr. Jen Fryhite, director of Public Health & Social Services — was followed by short remarks from Bloodworks Northwest and American Red Cross representatives. Jenny McCoy of Bloodworks Northwest told the board the organization supplies about 100 hospitals in the Pacific Northwest and needs roughly 1,000 donors per day to meet demand. James Moore, who supervises the Olympia Bloodworks team, said blood donated locally is typically available to patients within 24 hours.

Keith Palin McBee, representing the American Red Cross, and Manny Martinez and Shannon Glenn, who serve on Red Cross boards or related organizations, stressed that donations decline after holidays and highlighted February as a month of increased need, including for sickle cell awareness during Black History Month. Board members encouraged a local social-media donor challenge using the hashtags TCPHSS and #blooddonor, and invited the public to make appointments and pledge donations.

The proclamation text cited state and national figures included in the public packet and noted that nearly 200,000 units of blood are needed annually to meet regional needs, per the American Red Cross language used in the proclamation. The board invited attendees and partners to pose for photos after the reading and to help amplify donation messaging on social media.

Board members and presenters asked residents who cannot donate blood to consider volunteering with or donating to local organizations that support disaster response and blood-collection efforts.

The proclamation and related outreach focus are informational and do not create new county policy or requirements.