Last summer along with four other upstate chapters, your Red Cross was challenged to collect 200 units of blood in one short day during a special blood drive. At the end of the day, we had done it and exceeded our goal by 49 units. This made Cayuga County winner over all the other area chapters.
The gauntlet has been dropped again. For our Thursday, Aug. 16, Community That Cares Blood Drive, we have been dared to collect 350 units in 10 hours during the drive at the Auburn Public Theater. We know we can do it since we have great donors in Auburn and Cayuga County.
In the last 20 months at 183 drives, you #- and all the other 6,192 donors - have generously given 7,616 pints of blood. Some 550 new donors have rolled up their sleeves, too. We have a donation rate of almost two times per year which exceeds national averages by double.
We know that one out of three of us will need blood at some point in our lives. Blood cannot be manufactured #- it must come from a caring individual willing to take one hour out of a busy schedule to donate.
Why should you donate blood? Some folks say they are scared of needles. Others are just too busy. Some people make an appointment and then forget it or decide to do something else. This could mean that there will not be blood available when someone needs it #- your spouse, child, friend, neighbor or a stranger.
Who uses blood? Individuals undergoing surgery regularly need blood. Young children with a life-threatening disease need blood. Victims of boating and car accidents need blood. Cancer patients need blood. Blood product transfusions are often needed to replace important components of blood when there are not enough in the body, either because they are not being made or because they have been lost.
People with cancer can need blood because of the cancer itself. Some cancers cause internal bleeding which leads to anemia. Others cancers start in the bone marrow or spread from other places crowding out the normal blood making cells leading to low blood counts. People who have had cancer for some time may develop what is known as “anemia of chronic disease.” Cancer lowers blood counts indirectly by affecting other organs which maintain blood levels such as the kidneys and spleen.
Cancer treatments may also lead to the need for blood. Surgery to treat cancer is often a major operation and there may be significant blood loss. Most chemotherapy drugs affect cells in the bone marrow leading to low levels of white blood cells which put a person at risk of life-threatening infections or bleeding. Radiation used to treat a large area of bone can affect bone marrow and lead to reduce blood cell counts.
Who actually collects and processes your blood? The New York/Penn Blood Region, our partner in blood collection, serves 63 counties in two states, comprising a population of 8.6 million people. There are approximately 120 hospitals, including 13 major trauma centers and numerous metro emergency rooms as well as smaller rural hospitals such as Auburn Memorial Hospital that are recipients of the blood and blood products.
In total, the Red Cross distributes more than 720,000 blood products annually and more than 2,000 units of blood are distributed to area hospitals daily.
How do you give blood? To begin, you must weigh over 110 pounds; be in good health; and be age 17 or older or have a signed Parental Permission Form for those age 16. Also you cannot donate if you have given blood in the last 56 days. Also, donors must bring a photo ID.
And if you can't give Thursday, Aug. 16, try one of our other 13 drives in August or September. Call your Red Cross to learn more.
Our thanks goes out to Carey Eidel and the board of the Auburn Public Theater for allowing us to use this wonderful community arts resource again as the site for this huge drive and to all the churches, businesses and civic groups which are helping to recruit donors from their membership and employee base. Look for colorful signs all over the city announcing the drive. There will be great food, free T-shirts and other freebies all day long.
Susan Marteney is executive director of the Cayuga County Chapter of the American Red Cross.
If you go
What: Community That
Cares Blood Drive
When: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 16
Where: Auburn Public Theater, downtown Auburn
To make an appointment:
Contact the local chapter at 252-9596 or e-mail chapter@ccredcross.org
In the last 20 months at 183 drives, you #- and all the other 6,192 donors - have generously given 7,616 pints of blood. Some 550 new donors have rolled up their sleeves, too. We have a donation rate of almost two times per year which exceeds national averages by double.
We know that one out of three of us will need blood at some point in our lives. Blood cannot be manufactured #- it must come from a caring individual willing to take one hour out of a busy schedule to donate.
Why should you donate blood? Some folks say they are scared of needles. Others are just too busy. Some people make an appointment and then forget it or decide to do something else. This could mean that there will not be blood available when someone needs it #- your spouse, child, friend, neighbor or a stranger.
Who uses blood? Individuals undergoing surgery regularly need blood. Young children with a life-threatening disease need blood. Victims of boating and car accidents need blood. Cancer patients need blood. Blood product transfusions are often needed to replace important components of blood when there are not enough in the body, either because they are not being made or because they have been lost.
People with cancer can need blood because of the cancer itself. Some cancers cause internal bleeding which leads to anemia. Others cancers start in the bone marrow or spread from other places crowding out the normal blood making cells leading to low blood counts. People who have had cancer for some time may develop what is known as “anemia of chronic disease.” Cancer lowers blood counts indirectly by affecting other organs which maintain blood levels such as the kidneys and spleen.
Cancer treatments may also lead to the need for blood. Surgery to treat cancer is often a major operation and there may be significant blood loss. Most chemotherapy drugs affect cells in the bone marrow leading to low levels of white blood cells which put a person at risk of life-threatening infections or bleeding. Radiation used to treat a large area of bone can affect bone marrow and lead to reduce blood cell counts.
Who actually collects and processes your blood? The New York/Penn Blood Region, our partner in blood collection, serves 63 counties in two states, comprising a population of 8.6 million people. There are approximately 120 hospitals, including 13 major trauma centers and numerous metro emergency rooms as well as smaller rural hospitals such as Auburn Memorial Hospital that are recipients of the blood and blood products.
In total, the Red Cross distributes more than 720,000 blood products annually and more than 2,000 units of blood are distributed to area hospitals daily.
How do you give blood? To begin, you must weigh over 110 pounds; be in good health; and be age 17 or older or have a signed Parental Permission Form for those age 16. Also you cannot donate if you have given blood in the last 56 days. Also, donors must bring a photo ID.
And if you can't give Thursday, Aug. 16, try one of our other 13 drives in August or September. Call your Red Cross to learn more.
Our thanks goes out to Carey Eidel and the board of the Auburn Public Theater for allowing us to use this wonderful community arts resource again as the site for this huge drive and to all the churches, businesses and civic groups which are helping to recruit donors from their membership and employee base. Look for colorful signs all over the city announcing the drive. There will be great food, free T-shirts and other freebies all day long.
Susan Marteney is executive director of the Cayuga County Chapter of the American Red Cross.
If you go
What: Community That
Cares Blood Drive
When: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 16
Where: Auburn Public Theater, downtown Auburn
To make an appointment:
Contact the local chapter at 252-9596 or e-mail chapter@ccredcross.org
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