While advances in medicine have lessened the demand for blood transfusions, the need for blood donors remains great. According to the American Red Cross, someone in the United States needs blood every two seconds. That comes to a total of 41,000 blood donations needed every day. January has been named National Blood Donor Month in an effort to offset a seasonal period when blood donations drop significantly.
If you’ve never donated blood before, it is a simple, four-step process: registration, medical history and mini-physical, donation and refreshments. The actual blood donation is a safe process that typically takes 10 to 12 minutes. A sterile needle is used only once for each donor and is then discarded. The average adult has about 10 pints of blood in his or her body. Approximately 1 pint is given during a donation.
In the Macomb area, contact the Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center at (309) 836-2329, or the American Red Cross at (309) 837-1594.
