By: Tyler Meyers
Every 2 seconds in the U.S. a person needs blood and/or platelets. This combined with the fact that in one day, approximately 29,000 units of blood (one unit is roughly 350 mL or 12 oz) is needed to save a life, makes having a surplus storage crucial for hospitals everywhere. If a person is admitted to the emergency room and has undergone severe blood loss, then they will need a large amount of additional blood to be able to recover.
And for this reason, the American Red Cross is almost constantly holding blood drives wherever they can find a location to host their program. One of these locations now happens to be in our own Wallenpaupack High School gym foyer on Wednesday, October 16th and all students and faculty are invited to donate. What is required for anyone looking to schedule an appointment is seeing Mrs. Elders. Additionally, applicants must fill out a pre-donation and health history form on the day of their appointment that can be found at RedCrossBlood.org/RapidPass and printed to make the entire process quick and easy for everybody involved in each donation.
In thanks for the blood and the willingness to save others, any person who gives in October will be given a $10 Amazon gift card over email and will be entered into a drawing for one of three $5,000 gift cards. These rewards plus the feeling that comes from giving back into the world and saving lives should be plenty of incentive for every person to consider donating to the Red Cross’s initiative.
For any concerns about the donation process, more information can be found at RedCrossBlood.org or with a phone call to (1-800-733-2767).
