24 August 2006

ST. JOSEPH: Michigan Community Blood Centers Community Donor Center at the Lakeland Center for Outpatient Services will expand donation hours to accommodate more blood donors. Beginning on Saturday, September 2, the Community Donor Center, 3900 Hollywood Rd, St. Joseph, will be open for blood donations from 8 a.m. to Noon and also will be open the first Saturday of each month thereafter. 

“We hope the added hours will make donating more convenient for people who work during the week,” said Doug deBest, site manager for Michigan Community Blood Centers in St. Joseph. “This community needs 6,600 units of blood each year, the added donation hours will help us meet those needs.”

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.

Each day, patients in American hospitals receive approximately 38,000 units of blood. This year alone, as many as 4.5 million patients will require blood transfusions. Besides being used to treat accident victims and surgical patients, blood is often needed to help people receiving treatment for many kinds of diseases in including leukemia and other types of cancer.

A nonprofit blood bank, Michigan Community Blood Centers provides 100 percent of the regular blood supply for Lakeland HealthCare as well as hospitals in three other regions of the state. Michigan Community Blood Centers must collect over 300 pints of blood each day in order to meet the needs of all hospitals. 

© Michigan Community Blood Centers