In the summer of 2022, Shandra Sterner was bleeding excessively after getting an emergency cesarean section to deliver her son at St. Luke’s.

She was losing too much blood; Sterner had to have more surgeries for her to survive.

“So they let me basically say ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ to my son before they took him out of the room, and my spouse, Greg, and the baby left,” Sterner said. “That’s when I was under for four days and went through seven surgeries.”

She received 88 units of blood sourced from Pocatello, Idaho Falls and Boise.

With the American Red Cross Blood Donation Center opening in Twin Falls, Sterner is giving back.

“I’m anxious and nervous,” Sterner said. “But at the end of the day, I had at least 88 people save my life and this one donation can save somebody.

“So that’s what is pushing me forward to keep going and just not walk out of the door.”

The Red Cross facilitated its inaugural blood drive Monday by receiving donations from first responders, health care workers and community members throughout the day. Located at 358 Cheney Drive W., Suite 103, the center is open Mondays from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held July 26, in which blood recipients will share their stories about the importance of blood donations.

The summertime and holidays are periods that have the lowest amount of donations collected because the donors that provide the most units — students — are not available to donate. But there remains a critical need of blood even in the summer.

“This time of year is trauma season — whether it’s people getting injured in motorcycle crashes, car crashes, boating accidents, falling out of trees,” Twin Falls Police Chief Craig Kingsbury said. “So we have our first responders, our sheriff’s deputies, our state troopers, city police officers, firefighters, paramedics that respond to these incidents throughout the entire Magic Valley and while this is happening, being able to have blood available because getting that blood into a person as rapidly as possible is paramount to their survival.”

For those who are unable to donate blood, people have served by volunteering. Dennis Becker volunteered as an ambassador for the Red Cross since the COVID-19 pandemic when he stopped volunteering at St. Luke’s. Becker wanted to continue serving his community and found a place at the Red Cross.

Shellie Amundson, a volunteer board member for Idaho, Montana and eastern Oregon, serves as a community liaison by recruiting people to donate blood and getting more volunteers. Amundson is a healthcare worker who witnessed the considerable need for blood and the difficulty of low supplies during the pandemic.

After understanding that over 60% of the population qualifies to donate but less than 3% donates, Amundson found a way to be involved.

Amundson has helped her friend begin donating and continues to recruit community members for donations.

“It was just the insecurity or fear of the process,” Amundson said. “When we get a first-time donor, they’re just so surprised how easy it really is.”

Preparing to donate blood is the opposite of drawing blood for medical purposes, Amundson said. Instead of fasting, donors need to eat and drink fluids before their appointments.

Sterner didn’t have a specific plan before she sat on the collection bed.

“I’m just here and I know the first step is to drink a juice box and just give it a try,” Sterner said. “That’s all we can do.”