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Did you know that receiving a blood or platelet transfusion is like receiving medicine? A doctor must write a prescription for a patient to receive blood or platelets, much like an antibiotic. Interestingly enough, most medications can be manufactured in a factory, except blood components, which can only come from generous donors like you.
Blood is comprised of three main components, red blood cells, plasma and platelets. Red blood cells can be given to treat victims of accidents, Sickle Cell Anemia or surgery patients, for example. Plasma is usually given to burn victims and platelets are typically used to help cancer patients.
If you don’t think your donation will count, think again…
…A single shock-trauma victim can use 100 units of blood components in just a few hours
…A car accident victim could require anywhere from 4 to 40 units of red blood cells
…A Sickle Cell patient might need 10 to 15 units of red blood cells to treat severe complications
…A premature newborn can use 1 to 4 units of red blood cells while in Intensive Care
…A liver transplant can use 6 to 40 units of various blood components
Since the Northern Ohio Blood Services Region serves nearly 60 local hospitals within 19 counties, on any given day, we may need to supply enough blood products to help all of the above patients and more. To make sure we can fulfill this demand, every day we need 900 healthy volunteer blood donors to donate!
Your American Red Cross doesn’t need blood. People do. Help us help.
Check out if you’re eligible to give:
To donate blood you must be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, be in general good health and show a valid photo ID upon donation. You may give blood every 56 days.
To donate platelets you must be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, be in general good health and provide a valid photo ID. In addition, you must be aspirin-free for 48 hours prior to donating or any other medications that affect platelet function, such as Plavix, and have no allergies to citrus fruit. You may donate platelets every 3 days, but no more than 24 times a year.
Find out what being a donor really means. To you it might mean empathy, courage, sincerity, or kindness. To patients in our community though, donating blood or platelets speaks 1,000 words. An hour or two out of your day means a lifetime to one of them.
To find a blood drive or events in your area click here.
To learn more about becoming a platelet donor, click here.
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