Blood drive to be held Oct. 28 at NMCC
PRESQUE ISLE – At a time when the supply of blood and blood donors across the state and country are down, two student organizations at Northern Maine Community College are hoping their efforts to sponsor an American Red Cross Blood Drive on campus later this month will help.
The NMCC chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa student honor society and the Student Nurses Association will host the blood drive in the college gymnasium Thursday, Oct. 28 from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. In addition to encouraging members of the student body, faculty and staff to donate blood, the sponsors are inviting community members to join in the effort.
Throughout Maine, approximately 70,000 units of blood are donated each year. Hospitals within Maine alone use about 300 units of blood and blood products every day. In order to meet the need for blood in central and northern New England, the Red Cross must receive more than 350,000 donations a year. A total of 1,400 pints of blood must be collected every working day in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont to meet patient needs.
The Oct. 28 blood drive will be especially meaningful for one NMCC student who can personally attest to the importance of having a supply of blood readily available. Calvin Brewer, a student in the auto collision repair program, is living proof that American Red Cross blood donors are heroes. The 44-year-old from Monticello is thankful to be alive and has blood donors to credit for his second chance.
Brewer lost his arm up to his bicep in a tragic accident at work in southern Aroostook on Christmas Eve 2005. As the fifth anniversary of the life-changing incident nears, he reflects on what happened and how he survived.
“I went to work in Houlton on Christmas Eve and awoke in Boston at Mass General on Christmas morning,” said Brewer. Today, he credits the first aid training he received as a Boy Scout, the quick thinking of his co-workers at Louisiana Pacific and many Red Cross blood donors for saving his life.
Community members who would like to donate blood can log on to www.redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS to make an appointment or for more information. Appointments are not necessary, but are encouraged.
All presenting donors at the NMCC Blood Drive will receive a $5 Eastern Mountain Sports Gear Bucks Card and have the opportunity to enter into a drawing to win an Eastern Mountain Sports Climbing School package and a $50 gift card.
