Area bloodmobiles coming up in April

American Red Cross information

Get rooted in the Red Cross this spring. Donate blood and platelets and become part of its ever-growing family tree; joining about 3.3 million blood donors nationwide in a lifesaving cause.

According to Tracy Fox, Communications Manager for the American Red Cross Indiana-Ohio Blood Services Region, “Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood.” The Red Cross must collect enough blood donations every day to meet the needs of cancer patients, trauma victims, organ transplant recipients, premature babies with complications, sickle cell disease patients and others.

Donors may give whole blood up to six times per year or every 56 days, double red cell donation procedure every 112 days or up to three times per year, and platelets up to 24 times in a 12-month period. According to Fox, each weekday the Indiana-Ohio Blood Services Region needs to have at least 500 blood donors to help meet the need of patients in the hospitals served.

On average, the American Red Cross must collect about 15,000 pints of blood every day to meet the needs of patients at approximately 2,700 hospitals and transfusion centers across the country.

“Strong donor turnout in April and May can give us good momentum into the hectic summer season. And with only eight percent of eligible individuals donating blood each year, there’s great potential for solid collections during spring,” commented Fox. Approximately 38 percent of the U.S. population is eligible to donate blood, but only 8 percent of those eligible – or 3 percent of the general population – donates blood each year.

Upcoming local Red Cross blood drives:

Thursday, April 10, from 12:30-6:30 p.m., at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5803, 111 N. Shannon St.

Monday, April 14, from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. at Crestview High School’s auditeria, 531 E. Tully St. in Convoy.