LOWELL, MI (May 3, 2007):  On Monday, June 11, 2007, Michigan Community Blood Centers will open a new Community Donor Center at the King Memorial Youth Center at the Kent County Fairgrounds, home of the Kent County Youth Fair, 225 S. Hudson, Lowell.

Blood donors will be welcome to donate every month, on the second Monday, from Noon to 7 p.m. Donation dates for 2007 are as follows:  June 11, July 9, August 13, September 10, October 8, November 12, December 10.

Any healthy person 17 or older who weighs 110 pounds or more may be eligible to give blood every 56 days. Donating a pint of blood takes just 7-10 minutes; the entire process (including registration, health screening, blood donation, and snack/rest period afterward) takes 45-60 minutes.

“Hopefully the new Lowell Community Donor Center will provide a convenient location for people in eastern Kent County to give blood regularly,” said Doug Klynstra, who heads donor recruitment for Michigan Community Blood Centers in West Michigan. “Long term, we hope to encourage more people to become regular blood donors, because the community blood supply must be replenished continually and we need a steady flow of blood donations to do that.”

Michigan Community Blood Centers is the independent nonprofit blood bank that provides 100 percent of the regular blood supply for hospitals in four major regions of the state with a combined population of more than 1. 5 million, including all the hospitals in Kent County.

© Michigan Community Blood Centers