Oak Street Baptist sets blood drive

By Staff Reports

Summer has become synonymous with superhero blockbusters, but there’s no need for tights and a cape to become someone’s hero. The Red Cross is asking local citizens to “Find the Hero In You” by giving blood or hosting a blood drive. By supporting the Red Cross, anyone can be a hero to a neighbor in need of lifesaving blood.

“I want to thank our local heroes who make it a priority to give back by giving blood and hosting blood drives,” states Joyce Brendel, chief executive officer of the American Red Cross Carolinas Blood Services Region. ”Summer tends to keep many donors away from blood donation centers and blood drives, but the Red Cross must be prepared to respond to patient emergencies with blood products.”

High schools and colleges account for about 22 percent of Red Cross blood collections throughout the Southeast. With schools being closed for the summer, the Red Cross loses a large portion of its donor base at this time every year. Vacations, travel, weather and busy summer schedules are some of the other reasons donations decline. Unfortunately, the need for blood does not take a vacation. Approximately 1,600 blood donations are needed daily in the Carolinas Blood Services Region to maintain an adequate supply for local hospitals.

Oak Street Baptist Church, 804 Oak St., Elizabethton, has scheduled a blood drive on Thursday, July 12, from 1:30 to 6 p.m. Please call the church office at 543-4380 for more information or to schedule an appointment or go online at www.redcrossblood.org and enter sponsor code Oak Street Baptist. All presenting donors are automatically entered into a drawing for a $3,000 gift car.

Most healthy people age 17 and older, or 16 with parental consent, who weigh at least 110 pounds, are eligible to donate blood and platelets. Donors who are 18 and younger and all high school students must also meet specific height and weight requirements.

For more information about blood donation or to schedule an appointment to donate, please visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Call 1-877-975-2835 to make an appointment to donate platelets.