Michigan Blood in the News: One Mother's Dedication to Blood Donation

When Kathy Uzarski found out her son Jerry used 50 pints of blood while being treated for leukemia when he was only 9 years old, she vowed to replace every pint. 17 years later, Jerry is cancer-free and Kathy has donated over 70 pints with no signs of slowing down.

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Start The Year Right – "Save A Mate. Donate."

Michigan Blood is hosting its “Save a mate. Donate” campaign leading up to and just after the new year.  Not only will donors be helping to shore up the blood supply after the holidays, but they’ll also be setting themselves on a path of saving lives all year long.

“Save a life and you can check ‘Do more good’ off your resolution list!” said Jim Childress, Vice President of Community Relations at Michigan Blood. “Because we don’t have blood drives on Christmas and New Year’s Day, we lose two days of donations and we will need to give the blood supply a boost so we can keep it at a safe level as we start 2013,” said Childress.  

When you donate to Michigan Blood, you could end up helping a friend, neighbor, or family member who needs blood. Michigan Blood supplies blood to more than 40 hospitals in Michigan’s lower peninsula. As a ‘thank you’ for stepping up to help during the “Save a Mate. Donate” campaign, anyone who attempts to donate will receive a $10 Outback Steakhouse gift card.

      Dates and Times Across the State

       Traverse City
       December 26  •  10:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
       December 27  •  10:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

       Bay City
       December 31  •  8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
       January 2  •  Noon – 7:00 p.m. 

       Dow Diamond
       December 31  •  7:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
       January 2  •  7:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

       Saginaw
       December 31  •  8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
       January 2  •  8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

       Grand Rapids
       December 31  •  8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
       January 2  •  8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
       January 3  •  8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

       St. Joseph
       January 2  •  11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. 

       Kalamazoo
       January 3  •  11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
       January 4  •  11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

       Grandville
       January 3  •  Noon – 7:00 p.m.

Michigan Blood hopes donors won’t stop with this first blood drive of the year. Donors are eligible to give every 56 days, but the average Michigan Blood donor gives less than twice a year. Just one more donation would help greatly: if all blood donors gave three times a year, blood shortages would be rare. 

Any healthy person 17 or older (or 16 with parental consent) who weighs at least 110 pounds may be eligible to give blood every 56 days. Blood donors should bring photo ID (or two forms of non-photo ID). Appointments are preferred and can be made online at www.miblood.org or by calling 1-866-MIBLOOD.

Michigan Blood and Swing Shift and the Stars

Michigan Blood has been named one of the five charities for the Swing Shift and the Stars competition! Much like Dancing with the Stars, our local celebrity assigned to Michigan Blood will dance at a competition once a month to raise money for our Marrow/Stem Cell Program. More information will be coming soon, but in the meantime we are honored and excited to participate in this fun event.

Thanks for Giving – November 20 & 21

Be somebody who helps save lives. Before you give thanks, give blood at Michigan Blood's Thanks for Giving blood drive, November 20 or 21. Everyone who tries to donate at a participating Michigan Blood donor center receives a FREE PUMPKIN PIE. See below for a schedule of participating locations.

Thanks For Giving Blood Drive Schedule

Kalamazoo Area Donor Center
524 E Milham Avenue, Portage
November 20  •  11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Grand Rapids Donor Center
1036 Fuller Avenue NE, Grand Rapids
November 21  •  8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Traverse City Donor Center
2575 Aero Park Drive, Traverse City
November 21  •  10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

St. Joseph Donor Center
2710 Cleveland Avenue, St. Joseph
November 21  •  11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Hurricane Sandy News Advisory --- The Need For Blood

Grand Rapids, Mich. – As Hurricane Sandy roars toward the northern east coast of the United States, businesses, schools, service organizations, and blood banks have closed and thousands are without power.  The media has contacted Michigan Blood regarding requests to supply blood to effected regions.  Michigan Blood is an independent, nonprofit blood bank and as such, we are affiliated with Blood Centers of America, Inc., a network of community blood banks spanning North America which supplies 38% percent of the blood to the United States. (http://www.bca.coop) .

Should these blood banks experience a blood shortage, BCA affiliates will ship blood products to the region.  Michigan Blood is standing by to assist in any way we can.  At this time we have not been called upon to send blood products.  We recognize the need for blood is constant – in fact, every two seconds someone needs blood.  One out of seven people entering the hospital require blood.  We encourage healthy adults (17 and older or 16 with parent or guardian consent) to donate blood.  Our donors are welcome to donate in the spirit of keeping our reserves ready to assist blood centers and blood recipients in the storm area. In the event that we are called upon to supply blood to the storm region, we will depend more than ever on our donors to help us maintain a safe and adequate blood supply for hospitals and patients in both the emergency areas and our own Michigan regions of responsibility.

For a fixed or mobile site in your area, check out http://www.bca.coop/ ww.miblood.org.