Join Mercy Urgent Care on Tuesday, June 11 for an American Red Cross Blood Drive event held at Sacred Heart Church, 20 Summit St., Burnsville. The event, sponsored by Mercy, will take place from 1-5:30 p.m. Free insulated grocery bags will be offered to donors while supplies last.
Every two seconds, a person in the United States is in need of a blood transfusion — and each blood donation can potentially save up to three lives. However, less than 38 percent of the population is eligible to give blood or platelets. Blood and platelets cannot be manufactured. They can only come from volunteer donors — making each and every blood donation all the more valuable and meaningful.
To donate, individuals must be at least 16 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds and be in good health and feeling well. It must also have been at least 56 days since the individual’s last donation. Unaccompanied donors under age 18 must bring signed parental consent forms, which can be found at redcrossblood.org. Common reasons that people may be ineligible to donate include current illnesses, low iron levels, recent travel to malaria-risk countries and use of certain medications. In almost all cases, though, medications will not disqualify a blood donor, but certain waiting periods may apply for a small number of specific drugs. Additional qualifications may apply for platelet, plasma and power red donations.
All types of blood are valuable and can help save lives — whether the donor is A, B, AB, O or unknown. The blood donation process, from the time you arrive until the time you leave, takes about an hour, but the donation itself takes only about 8-10 minutes on average. Donors will be asked to provide a photo ID and list any current prescription and over-the-counter medications.
Prior to your donation, the American Red Cross recommends being well-rested, eating iron-rich foods (such as red meat, fish, poultry, beans, spinach, raisins or iron-rich cereals) and keeping hydrated to assist the body’s post-donation recovery and replenishment process.
The American Red Cross Blood Drive, sponsored by Mercy Urgent Care, will be held from 1-5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 11 at Sacred Heart Church, 20 Summit St., in Burnsville. To schedule an appointment for your donation, visit redcrossblood.org/give and search using zipcode 28714 for the Sacred Heart Church drive. For more information on donating, visit redcrossblood.org.
