Red Cross Blood Drive Coming Thursday

The Woodbury Lions Club will host an American Red Cross blood drive this coming Thursday, September 17, 2009 at the Lions Memorial Building located off West Lehman Street from noon until 6 p.m.

Post cards were sent out to donors reminding them of the up coming Cannon County Blood Drive.

Ask yourself this question: If a newborn was having complications and needed blood, an auto accident happens and a young teenager was seriously injured and needed blood, also at the same time a scheduled life saving surgery of a much needed heart transplant was to take place and blood was needed. The hospital had the blood to do only one of the surgeries, which would you choose. If you were the mother or father of the newborn, whom would you then choose? What if you were the parents of the teenager or the family of the heart patient who would soon die if not given the transplant?

If there was a shortage of blood this situation could become a reality. Every two seconds someone needs blood, and most of us know someone who has used blood. Few people expect they will need blood. Nevertheless, blood must be collected, tested, processed and available before the need occurs.

Sixty percent of the people in our region are eligible to give blood, but only about four percent actually donate blood. One can give blood six times a year or every 56 days. If once-yearly donors would give twice, we would not experience the blood shortages we frequently do now. Blood shortages typically occur around major summer and winter holidays, primarily because the donors who supply the blood don’t make the time to give. There is no substitute for human blood or for the extraordinary people who donate. Only you can give the gift of life.

By giving blood, you’re a hero in so many ways. Your donation has the potential to help save the lives of up to three patients. These can be people with cancer, accident victims, those receiving organ transplants, or those with chronic diseases.

Sometimes, the whole blood is used to replace blood lost by patients in life-threatening situations. More frequently, blood is separated into components that are then used individually.

Plasma, the yellow liquid portion of blood stops bleeding by forming blood clots. Patients such as hemophiliacs, whose own blood does not clot properly, need plasma.

Platelets, which also aid in blood clotting, are fragile blood cells that leukemia and other cancer patients need. They must be transfused within five days of donation.

White blood cells are given to help patients, including newborn infants, fight severe infections.

Red blood cells help treat anemia and increase the oxygen carrying ability of blood during surgery.

One is not just giving blood, they’re giving life. Three lives saved, three grateful recipients, all from a single gift of blood. Most want to give but have a fear of needles and pain of being stuck. What pain is the person needing the blood going through. The blood could be needed for your child, your brother or sister, your parents or grandparents or even for you.

The Woodbury Lions Club sponsors six blood drives during a fiscal year. The third Thursday every other month, meaning all blood drives are 56 to 64 days apart. July, September, and November, January, March, and May. All Blood Drives will be held at the Lions Memorial Building and from the hours of noon until 6 P. M. except May‘s blood drive which is the donor appreciation drive and will be nine hours 9 A.M. until 6 P.M.