EastTexasRadio.com Powered by Ten Stations
There are ordinary people acting as heroes every day. Carter BloodCare knows them as volunteer blood donors. These individuals become heroes when they do the extraordinary by giving blood so that another person has hope for healing. There is no substitute for blood. Only another person can donate the blood that could save a patient’s life. Blood is not manufactured and must be available before it is required for a patient.
St. James Catholic Church is hosting a blood drive from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm Sunday, August 5, at 297 Texas St. in the parking lot on the Carter BloodCare bus. For more information or to schedule an appointment time, contact Joe West at (903) 885-1222.
About 37 percent of the population, at any given time, is eligible to donate blood. Yet, less than four percent of eligible donors in the Carter BloodCare service area gives blood. Approximately 600 to 800 patients daily require blood transfusions. Many of them will require more than one unit of blood and/or blood components. Carter BloodCare likes to see 1,000 donors each day to meet the daily demand. Summer is one of the most challenging times of year to do that.
Hospitals full of patients depend on blood donations – even while many healthy individuals enjoy summer fun. Blood donors help ensure chemotherapy patients receive platelets they require; red cells are available for heart surgery patients; and when a lifesaving donor organ arrives, blood is available to perform the operation.
Donors must remember to eat a nutritious meal and drink plenty of water one to two hours before giving blood. All donors must weigh at least 110 pounds, feel well on the day of donation, and present a government-issued photo ID each time they give blood.
Potential blood donors may volunteer to begin at age 16 with parental consent; 17-year-olds may donate independently and there is no upper age limit for donating blood. For more information on donor eligibility and to make an appointment, call 1-800-366-2834 or visit carterbloodcare.org.
About Carter BloodCare
Carter BloodCare is an independent, community blood center providing transfusion resources to more than 180 medical facilities in 50-plus counties of the North, Central, and East Texas. The non-profit 501(c)(3) organization is one of the largest blood programs in Texas, delivering more than 300,000 blood products annually to meet hospitals’ requirements for their patients. Services include collection, processing, specialized laboratory testing, storage and distribution of blood and blood products. The program is accredited by the AABB, including a laboratory with accreditation for molecular testing of red cell antigens. It is licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is a member of America’s Blood Centers.