The
American Red Cross provides nearly half of the nation's blood supply
to patients in 3,000 hospitals nationwide, including blood for hospitals
in Southeastern Virginia and Northern North Carolina through the
Mid-Atlantic Blood Region. Every 2 seconds, someone needs a blood
transfusion. Step four in preparing for emergencies is to donate
blood at your local Red Cross blood facility. Here are some facts
about giving blood:
- In
order to be eligible to donate blood, you must be 17 years
of age or older, weigh at least 110 pounds and be in generally
good health.
- Seventy
percent of the U.S. population is eligible to donate blood,
but only about 5 percent do.
- A person
can safely donate blood every 56 days – as many as 6
times a year.
- Giving
blood is completely safe. A new bag and needle are used for
each donor, so you cannot contract any disease from giving
blood.
- A single
donation from an individual can be separated into different
blood components and be used to help as many as three people.
- The
Red Cross collects blood from volunteer donors only.
- The
Red Cross charges hospitals a processing fee to cover the expenses
of recruiting, collecting, testing, processing and distributing
blood and blood products. This fee is directly related to costs.
The blood itself is never charged for because it is a volunteer’s
free gift.
Please call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE
or visit www.bloodct.org to
make an appointment to give the gift of life today. Check our local
schedule by visiting the donate blood page of our website.
Step
4: Volunteer <<---- >> Step
1: Build a Kit |