St. Elizabeth's Hospital issued the following announcement on May 31.
HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, in conjunction with Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center (MVRBC), is hosting a blood drive Tuesday, June 18, from 11:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Anyone attending the drive should park near the hospital’s Outpatient entrance and enter the building using the Outpatient entrance, which is noted with a blue “Outpatient” sign. Additional directional signs will be posted to lead guests to the conference room, located on the 4th floor.
All presenting donors will receive a gift card voucher, which is redeemable online or by phone, for the donor’s choice of a $10 Gift Card to Amazon.com, Casey’s General Store, Dairy Queen or Domino’s. Plus, all presenting donors will be entered in a drawing for a $500 Visa gift card.
According to MVRBC, “While all blood types are needed, currently, there is an urgent need for O negative blood donors. Anyone with O negative blood is encouraged to donate at St. Elizabeth’s Blood Drive or any other local MVRBC blood drive as soon as possible.”
Type O negative donors are universal donors, which means that their red blood cells can be transfused to any patient, regardless of the recipient’s blood type. Often in an emergency, doctors do not have time to determine the blood type of the patient, so they depend on O negative blood to save the lives of trauma patients and accident victims.
Additionally, only nine percent of the population has O negative blood, yet it is the blood type in highest demand.
To schedule a donation time call MVRBC at 866-GIVE-BLD (866-448-3253) or log on to www.bloodcenterimpact.org and use Sponsor Code: 10155. Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are suggested. A photo ID is required to participate and it is encouraged that all donors get a good night’s sleep and eat a sustaining meal and hydrate well before donating.
A blood donor can give every eight weeks, or up to six times a year. All persons age 17 and up (or 16 with a signed parental permission form) who weigh at least 110 lbs. and are in general good health meet the basic eligibility requirements for blood donation. A full list of donor eligibility guidelines may be found at http://www.bloodcenter.org/donate-blood/donating-blood/donor-eligibility.aspx.
Original source can be found here.
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