For one day, petroleum was only the second most important liquid flowing out of the Hovensa refinery on St. Croix.
The company’s biannual blood drive has returned Wednesday after a two-year hiatus caused by the increased security demands of an oil refinery in an increasingly safety-minded world.
Dr. Cora Christian, Hovensa’s chief medical consultant, spent two years working to overcome the various logistical logjams so the event, which started in 1992, could return. The Hovensa blood drive is the single most important such event on the island, she said.
"Blood is, to me, the one sacred activity, the transfer of fluids from one individual to another to save a life," she said.
Virtually everyone can give blood, she said. Barring certain medical conditions, a healthy human can give a pint of blood every eight weeks with no harmful effects. The human body begins rebuilding the blood supply as soon as the donor gives that pint.
Blood drawn during the Hovensa blood drive goes directly to the St. Croix Blood Bank at Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital. The bank takes in about 400 units of blood a year, and half of that comes from Hovensa employees giving twice a year, Christian said, adding that the petroleum company’s by far the biggest contributor of blood on the island.
When patients are scheduled for medical treatment at Luis, she said, they or their family usually donate any blood the patient is expected to need. But the hospital cannot turn away patients in need, and after an accident or some other incident, having enough blood of the right type available can mean the difference between life and death. Hovensa’s employees are happy to help out, with many of the volunteers donating blood every time the drive is held. Christian, smiling, referred to them as "a captive audience, healthy young men and women."
Outside Christian’s office the employees were lined up, filling out forms and waiting their turn to give. Further down the hall, employees lay on the reclining chairs while the blood dripped from their veins into the tubing that collected it, or waited afterwards to enjoy some juice and a snack while the nursing staff made sure they were OK.
Nancy Carreras lay on one of the recliners, a needle in her arm and her fist pumping a rubber ball to help keep the blood flowing as she topped off the pint bag. She has been an employee of Hovensa 10 years and said she has never missed a drive.
"You never now when it might be me or my own family in need," she said.
On another recliner, Steven Mayers had just taken a seat and was being hooked up. He also gives at every drive, joking that it was his own personal way of keeping from having high blood pressure, by removing any excess. But seriously, he said, giving blood is his way of helping meet the community’s need, and since he has type O positive, he is a universal donor, anyone in need can use his blood.
"People need blood," he said simply.
