Jefferson City - Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-St. Louis, today stopped by the University City Public Library for the annual American Red Cross blood drive to give the "Gift of Life." She is encouraging Missourians to roll up their sleeves and donate blood this summer.
"Right now just three of every 100 people donate blood," Sen. Chappelle-Nadal said. "It's the easiest thing in the world to do and it will help save someone's life. Actually, each time you donate blood you help save up to four lives, so I'm asking people to spare ten minutes and help save lives."
When a donor arrives at a blood center, he or she will be asked to fill out a donor form and medical personnel will take the donor's medical history in a private setting. A small drop of blood is usually taken to ensure donors are not anemic, and then the donor is escorted to the blood donation area. The donation process takes about ten minutes.
Donors are typically limited to healthy persons between the ages of 17-60. The Red Cross says a blood donation is needed about every two seconds in the United States, and that demand constantly outpaces supply because today's medical techniques require more blood transfusions. The American Red Cross Missouri-Illinois Blood Services Region distributes over 500,000 blood products to patients need each year and requires about 1,200 donations of whole blood each day. |
