Share A Priceless Gift – Give Blood, Platelets This Holiday

Think end-of-year holidays and you automatically think gifts and shopping. Smiling faces also come to mind, the happy faces of loved ones and friends that let you know the time you spent shopping wasn’t in vain.

This year, how about giving a gift that really captures the spirit of the season and is sure to not only bring smiles, but also to save a life? Give of yourself by donating blood or platelets to the American Red Cross. It is a priceless gift that costs you absolutely nothing.

A blood donation, which takes about an hour, will help save the life of an accident victim or someone who is anemic or in need of surgery, while a platelet donation, which typically takes two hours, will aid someone in their fight against cancer.

The American Red Cross collects blood and platelets Monday through Saturday at its many donor centers, and Sunday, too, at the Cobb and midtown Atlanta locations – all conveniently located near popular shopping malls – as well as frequent blood drives held at workplaces and through religious and community organizations.

During the holiday season, between Thanksgiving and the end of January, the region’s blood supply always becomes dangerously low as the Red Cross doesn’t receive enough blood or platelet donations to meet hospital needs. During this time, hospital patients are more likely than ever to be unable to receive the lifesaving transfusions they need.

Spending a little time in an American Red Cross donor chair will give a gift beyond compare – the gift of life. The organization encourages putting blood or platelet donation on your to-do list this holiday to help prevent a shortage. Appointments can be made for the time and location that best suits your schedule.

Because red blood cells regenerate, most donors can safely give blood every 56 days. The Red Cross must receive 1,200 donations each weekday to meet the needs of the 130 hospitals it serves in the Southern Region. Most healthy people age 17 or older, weighing at least 110 pounds, can give blood and platelets. For more information or to make an appointment to donate please call 1-800-GIVE LIFE (448-3543) or visit www.givebloodredcross.org