Blood donations needed

Not a week goes by that we don’t hear of the need for blood donors.

People with accidental injuries, anemia, cancer, heart disease, leukemia, etc. need blood on a regular basis. Four million people need blood every year. That’s one patient every three seconds. Ninety-seven percent of the population will need a blood transfusion by age 75.

The American Red Cross River Valley Region, where I live, needs 600 pints of blood on an average day. Thirty-eight percent of the population is eligible to donate every eight weeks, but the average donor gives only 1.5 times a year. Surely, we can raise that to three times a year.

A number of years ago, nine people in my office committed to donate blood. At the end of the year, we had given 5 gallons. According to The Red Cross, up to three people are saved each time a pint of blood is donated: newborns, cancer patients, accident victims, even wounded warriors sent to Louisville for hand surgery. So our small effort truly made a difference.

What a great project for other groups: bridge and poker players; deer, bird and coon hunters; homemakers; the Red Hat Society; book clubs; church groups; office staffs; Scout leaders; sports trainers, etc.

This story was originally published August 24, 2017 at 7:22 PM with the headline "Blood donations needed."