TAMC to hold
Red Cross blood drive Tuesday
PRESQUE ISLE — With the first half of summer blood donations once again falling short of demand, the public is encouraged to join TAMC and the American Red Cross for a blood drive Tuesday, Aug. 27 from 1-5 p.m. at the A.R. Gould Memorial Hospital in Presque Isle.
“The need is greater than ever,” said Sherry Beaulieu, a TAMC manager and coordinator of the blood drive. “The American Red Cross tells us that donations are down 10 percent across the country. Giving blood is a special gift because blood is only available if people donate. It cannot be made in a lab.”
Donating is easy — it only takes a little more than an hour and TAMC and Red Cross personnel walk donors through the process, step by step, and donors are treated to a free snack and a special gift after donating.
The amount of blood needed in the country increases each year, yet only 5 percent of people donate. Someone in the United States needs blood every two seconds. Over 1,400 pints of blood are required every working day to meet the needs of hospitals in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. TAMC and the county’s three other hospitals rely on American Red Cross donations to meet the constant demand for blood.
Hospital patients are counting on generous volunteer donors to step up and give now to help ensure a sufficient blood supply is available going into the early fall.
“Every pint of donated blood has the potential to save three lives,” said Beaulieu. Last year, TAMC collected a record amount of blood during its two annual blood drives, including an impressive 147 pints last August.
All presenting donors who take part in the blood drive will be entered to win a $1,000 American Express gift card. All donors will be given a special dessert and a free Boston Red Sox T-shirt before leaving.
Eighty percent of the blood donations given to the Red Cross are collected at mobile blood drives set up at community organizations, companies, high schools and colleges, places of worship or military installations. The remaining 20 percent are collected at fixed Red Cross donor centers.
Walk-ins are welcome, but to save time, donors can pre-register by calling 1-800-GIVE-LIFE or visiting www.givelife.org.
