ST. JOSEPH, MI and SAGINAW, MI (May 31, 2007): On June 14, World Blood Donor Day, Michigan Community Blood Centers in St. Joseph and in Saginaw will host special blood drives to raise awareness of the need for a safe blood supply around the world, to thank and honor volunteer blood donors who sustain the local community blood supply, and to encourage people to donate blood regularly.

The public is invited to participate in these events. Any healthy person 17 or older who weighs 110 pounds or more may be eligible to donate blood every 56 days.

IN ST. JOSEPH, the Blood Center will partner with The Coast 94.9 radio station to welcome blood donors on June 14 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Michigan Community Blood Centers Southwest Blood Center facility, at 2710 Cleveland Avenue. The Coast 94.9 will broadcast LIVE from the Blood Center between 10 and 6 to help recruit blood donors. Refreshments for donors courtesy of Clementine’s and The Pump House Grille, and every person who tries to give blood will receive a T-shirtm a coupon from Dairy Queen, and a chance to register for prize drawings.

IN SAGINAW, the main donor center at 1771 Tittabawassee Road will welcome blood donors on June 14  between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. Everyone who tries to give blood will be entered in a drawing to receive tickets to Great Lakes Loons games at Dow Diamond in Midland. This is the inaugural season for the Great Lakes Loons, a  Class A Midwest League affiliate of the Dodgers.

World Blood Donor Day has been celebrated annually since 2005 on the birthday of Karl Landsteiner, a scientist who discovered the ABO blood group system. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 80 million units of blood are donated worldwide every year, but only 38% of the total is collected in developing countries where 82% of the world’s population lives. The chance of receiving a safe transfusion varies enormously from one country to another. In the USA, where blood donation and blood banks are strictly regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the blood supply is safer than at any previous time thanks to rigorous donor screening and extensive blood testing. About 8 million pints of blood, equaling about half the entire US blood supply, are donated by Americans every year through independent community blood banks such as Michigan Community Blood Centers.

Last year, Michigan Community Blood Centers collected more than 95,000 units of blood. A member of America’s Blood Centers, the largest provider of blood and blood-related services for the US and Canada, Michigan Community Blood Centers also responds to blood needs elsewhere in the nation, as well as military and disaster-related calls for blood.

© Michigan Community Blood Centers