VERSAILLES – Community Blood Centers needs donors during the critical holiday period, and St. Paul Lutheran Church is helping by hosting a Christmas week blood drive from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. Dec. 27 in the Community Hall, 13495 Greenville-St. Marys Road, Versailles.
CBC has a gift of colorful holiday socks for everyone who registers to donate. Donors can schedule an appointment online at www.DonorTime.com or call 1-800-388-GIVE.
CBC is focusing on the immediate need for blood donors to maintain the blood supply during the challenging holiday season, and the strategic goal in 2019 of identifying and recruiting new platelet and plasma donors.
CBC is expanding the opportunity to donate platelets and plasma at select community blood drives. Platelets are the cells that control bleeding while plasma is the fluid that maintains blood pressure. Both are vital for the treatment of cancer, trauma, organ transplant and burn patients. New platelet donors are in high demand, especially those with blood types A, AB, or B positive. Individuals can find out more at www.GivingBlood.org or talk to an apheresis specialist at 937-461-3220.
The holiday gift socks are part of the “Make it a Holiday to Remember All the Way to Your Jingle Toes” campaign. The holiday socks are green, gray and red with multi-colored Christmas tree bulbs representing blood types. They are one size fits all, and are free when individuals register to donate through Dec. 29 at a CBC Donor Center or mobile blood drive.
Donors can connect with Community Blood Center for the latest information and services at www.GivingBlood.org. Individuals can get fast and complete answers on how to make their first donation, organize a blood drive or bring Community Blood Center’s education program to a school. People can get all the updates in the CBC/CTS newsroom, find quick links to Community Blood Center’s social media pages or schedule an appointment to donate by connecting to www.DonorTime.com.
Donors are required to provide a photo ID that includes their full name. Past CBC donors also are asked to bring their CBC donor ID card. Donors must be at least 17 years of age (16 years old with parental consent: form available at www.givingblood.org or at CBC branch and blood drive locations), weigh a minimum of 110 pounds (donors may have to weigh more, depending on their height) and be in good physical health. The Food and Drug Administration changes blood donor eligibility guidelines periodically. Individuals with eligibility questions are invited to email [email protected] or call 1-800-388-GIVE. Donors can make an appointment at www.DonorTime.com.
Community Blood Center/Community Tissue Services is an independent, not-for-profit organization. Community Blood Center provides blood products to 25 hospitals and health centers within a 15-county service area in the Miami (Ohio) and Whitewater (Indiana)Valleys.
For more information about Community Blood Center/Community Tissue Services, visit www.givingblood.org.
