RED CROSS
ISSUES URGENT CALL
FOR ALL BLOOD TYPES
While
temperatures and fuel prices continue to rise this summer, the
American Red Cross reports that the blood inventory levels are so
low it is unable to sufficiently meet the demand of local
hospitals. While there is a constant need for all blood types,
donors with type O positive, O negative, A positive and A negative
are asked to take an hour to donate right away.
It is especially
crucial for donors with type O blood to donate within the next few
days. Type O is the most common blood type and is used extensively
by hospitals. Type O blood donors are considered universal red cell
donors because their blood can be given to most other blood types in
emergencies when there is no time to type a patient's blood.
Hospitals commonly experience an increase in traumas during the
summer, making the need for type O blood even greater.
Monday, July
14
Wal-Mart of
Spruce Pine (2514 Halltown Road, Spruce Pine, NC)
10:00 am – 2:30
pm
Please call
Krystal Murphy at 766-9991 for more information or to schedule an
appointment.
All presenting
donors will receive a T-shirt and can enter a drawing for one of
three $1000 gas cards!
"People often
forget that the need for blood never takes a vacation," says Robert
F. Fechner, chief executive officer, American Red Cross Carolinas
Blood Services Region. "Blood donations always decline during the
summer months, but blood is used to treat area hospital patients
every day. Unless donors respond immediately, hospitals may need to
cancel elective or non-emergency surgeries."
In the summer,
blood shortages often occur because individual donations decrease,
along with the number of organizations that are able to sponsor
blood drives. The absence of high school and college blood drives
also contributes to this annual drop in donations because these
drives account for approximately 20 percent of all donations in the
Carolinas Region.
"We want to make
the donation process as convenient as possible for those who take
time out of their day to help save lives. In order to avoid waits
at our donor centers and blood drives, we ask that donors call to
make appointments to give blood," adds Fechner.
The American Red
Cross Carolinas Blood Services Region needs approximately 1,600
people to donate blood and platelets each weekday to meet the needs
of hospital patients. Most people who are age 17 or older and weigh
at least 110 pounds are eligible to give blood every 56 days. There
is no substitute for blood, and the only source is from volunteer
donors.
To schedule an
appointment to donate or for information on the location of blood
drives, call1-800-728-9817 or visit
www.redcrossblood.org.

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