24 August 2006

BAY CITY: Michigan Community Blood Centers Bay City Donor Center, 1017 N. Johnson, will extend the hours people may give blood there starting September 11. As of that date, the Center will be open every Monday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and every Wednesday from Noon to 7 p.m.

“With the new hours, our Bay City Center will open earlier on Mondays than previously, and also will be open an additional day every week,” said Gail Manntz, who supervises donor recruitment for Michigan Community Blood Centers in east-central Michigan. “Donors who have appointments will be given priority but we will be glad to accept blood donations from people who don’t have appointments, too.”

To make an appointment to give blood at the Bay City center, people should call 989-497-1036.

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, according to America’s Blood Centers data, 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 hospitals in Bay, Midland, Saginaw, Clare, and Gladwin counties, as well as hospitals in three other major 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 in all regions. 

© Michigan Community Blood Centers