The Gift of Life: Donate Blood
Although the need for blood donors is constant, the summer months are a particularly important time for those who are eligible to give blood to visit an American Red Cross donor center and roll up their sleeves. The Red Cross reports a drop in the community blood supply from May through September, so it encourages eligible donors to make an extra effort to give blood during these months.
Summer blood shortages are the result of a variety of factors. Once school is out of session, students—one of the Red Cross’ largest donor pools—are no longer giving blood at high school and college drives. In addition, many regular donors take vacations during the summer, forgoing their typical donation appointments for some much-needed time away. And the Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day holidays are particular difficult times for collecting blood as most people spend their time enjoying the weekend outdoors instead of making time to donate. These holiday weekends are also a time when the Red Cross anticipates that hospitals’ need for blood may increase due to an influx of people vacationing in the region.
So what can you do to help alleviate the summer blood shortage? The answer is simple: Give blood and change a life, starting with your own. Each pint of blood donated may help to save up to three lives and every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood. By donating through the American Red Cross during the summer months, donors are giving the gift of life when it’s needed more than ever.
And to help build the summer blood supply, the American Red Cross is joining together with the Boston Red Sox and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to honor those who generously donate blood throughout the 2009 baseball season with the Blood Donor of the Game Program. All who come to donate at Red Cross blood drives in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont will be eligible to win two tickets to see the World Champion Boston Red Sox play at Fenway Park and be honored as Blood Donor of the Game in an on-field, pre-game ceremony. To make an appointment to donate or to learn more about how you can help save lives, call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE or log on to givelife.org.
Above content provided by the American Red Cross in partnership with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
For advice about your medical care, consult your doctor.
Posted June 2009
Summer blood shortages are the result of a variety of factors. Once school is out of session, students—one of the Red Cross’ largest donor pools—are no longer giving blood at high school and college drives. In addition, many regular donors take vacations during the summer, forgoing their typical donation appointments for some much-needed time away. And the Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day holidays are particular difficult times for collecting blood as most people spend their time enjoying the weekend outdoors instead of making time to donate. These holiday weekends are also a time when the Red Cross anticipates that hospitals’ need for blood may increase due to an influx of people vacationing in the region.
So what can you do to help alleviate the summer blood shortage? The answer is simple: Give blood and change a life, starting with your own. Each pint of blood donated may help to save up to three lives and every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood. By donating through the American Red Cross during the summer months, donors are giving the gift of life when it’s needed more than ever.
And to help build the summer blood supply, the American Red Cross is joining together with the Boston Red Sox and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to honor those who generously donate blood throughout the 2009 baseball season with the Blood Donor of the Game Program. All who come to donate at Red Cross blood drives in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont will be eligible to win two tickets to see the World Champion Boston Red Sox play at Fenway Park and be honored as Blood Donor of the Game in an on-field, pre-game ceremony. To make an appointment to donate or to learn more about how you can help save lives, call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE or log on to givelife.org.
Above content provided by the American Red Cross in partnership with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
For advice about your medical care, consult your doctor.
Posted June 2009
