TAMC blood drive Feb. 3

As the unpredictability of winter weather increases, so does the need for blood donations in northern Maine and nationwide. Officials at TAMC are encouraging members of the public to donate blood at the TAMC Red Cross Blood Drive on Monday, Feb. 3 at A.R. Gould Memorial Hospital in Presque Isle from 1-5 p.m.     “Donating blood 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,” said Sherry Beaulieu, a TAMC manager and coordinator of the blood drive. “Sometimes the weather or road conditions are a deterrent from donating this time, but we’d like to remind people that every pint truly makes a difference. Every pint of donated blood has the potential to save three lives.”
Blood donation is a quick and easy way to help to support and make a difference in your community and beyond. According to statistics from the Red Cross, every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood, and more than 41,000 blood donations are necessary daily to meet that need.
“I’ve been giving blood for 20 years. I’ve even donated in a variety of ways including the ‘double reds’ donation,” said Anthony Briscoe, a TAMC speech pathologist. Double red cell donation is similar to a whole blood donation, except a special machine is used to allow an individual to safely donate two units of red blood cells during one donation while returning plasma and platelets to the donor.
“Being involved in the community and caring for others is important to me. Throughout my life I’ve missed out on a few of the other ways that folks choose to give back to their community. Blood donation is a simple way of doing my part to help others in need,” he added.
Walk-ins are welcome, but to save time, participants are encouraged to preregister by calling 1-800-GIVE-LIFE or visiting www.givelife.org.
Blood drives and other important community events are held by TAMC throughout the year. Those interested in learning more about other events in the future, including future blood drives, can keep informed by visiting the TAMC website at www.tamc.org or choosing to “Like” TAMC on Facebook.