Red Cross to close Lewiston donation center after 27 years in LC Valley

The Red Cross will close its Lewiston blood donation center on Aug. 2.

The organization has had a donation center in Lewiston for 27 years, 15 of which were at their current location.

Matt Ochsner, regional communications director, said the center  hasn’t been collecting blood in a cost-efficient manner.

“We’ll continue our mobile operations in that area,” he said.

From July 1, 2024 to May 21, the center collected around 843 units of blood. Last fiscal year, it collected 872 units.

Right now, that blood is flown to Salt Lake City for processing and testing. Transporting it is costly and often logistically challenging, Ochsner said. Blood collected by the Red Cross Northwest Region goes to Portland for testing and processing.

Allowing the Northwest Region team to take over mobile blood drives in the area will increase efficiency, he said.

“They’re already collecting blood right across the border in Pullman, (and) they’re a larger operation,” he said.

With the Lewiston center closed, the Red Cross will be bringing teams from the Tri-Cities to collect blood in the Lewiston area, Ochsner said.

Five staff at the center are affected by the closure, one of whom already took a job with the Northwest Region Red Cross team. Another is exploring a work-from-home option with the Red Cross, Ochsner said, and three others are pursuing other employment.

Ochsner also noted that the Red Cross is expanding other regional operations, with plans to move into a larger location in Pocatello next week. 

The Red Cross also opened donations centers in Twin Falls last summer, and Nampa in 2023.

Last year, the Red Cross collected more than 91,000 units of blood in Idaho, and had 2,700 blood drives around the state. It provided blood products to 38 hospitals and medical centers across Idaho for patients including cancer patients, accident victims and birthing mothers.

“We are incredibly grateful for our generous blood donors in the Lewiston area and across the state,” Ochsner said.

People interested in finding a blood drive and scheduling an appointment to donate can visit RedCrossBlood.org or call 800-RED-CROSS.