Red Cross has blood donation incentive

VW independent staff/submitted information

The American Red Cross Indiana Region is helping to bridge access to health care for blood donors by providing free A1C testing, commonly used to screen for diabetes and prediabetes, on all successful blood, platelet and plasma donations during the month of March. The Red Cross’s Northeast Indiana Chapte serves over 1.3 million people in 17 Indiana counties, and seven counties in northwest Ohio: Allen, Auglaize, Defiance, Mercer, Paulding, Van Wert and Williams.

One-third of people lack access to regular primary care in the U.S., where diabetes affects 1 in 10 people and nearly a quarter of those living with it have been undiagnosed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The free A1C screening aims to help address this gap by giving blood donors valuable information to maintain their health and well-being. This new offering is among the longtime work of the Red Cross to support the health of communities, which also includes disaster relief efforts such as basic disaster health and mental health services among other assistance.

Three blood drives are scheduled to take place in Van Wert County in March:

• Monday, March 3 – Crestview Early Childhood Center (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.)
• Friday, March 14 – OhioHealth Van Wert Hospital North (11:30 a.m. to 5:30)
• Friday, March 21 – Trinity Friends Church, Van Wert (11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.)

Visit RedCrossBlood.org, use the Red Cross Blood Donor App or call 1.800.RED.CROSS to book a time to give in March. Additionally, all who come to give blood, platelets or plasma March 1-31 will receive a $10 Amazon.com gift card by email.