(July 3, 2006) ATLANTA - Come in to donate blood or platelets with the American Red Cross July 1-15 and get a chance to see the world. All blood drive participants during the two-week promotion called “Camp Save a Life & See the World!” will be entered in a drawing for two Delta Air Lines tickets to any Delta worldwide destination. Additionally, all blood and platelet donors will receive a Red Cross ball cap—the same cap that the Red Cross will donate to children at Camp Happy Days, a summer camp for children with cancer and their siblings.
“We all know the devastating impact that cancer can have on the lives of patients battling the illness as well as the people who love them,” said Randy Edwards, chief executive officer, American Red Cross Blood Services, Southern Region. “When cancer strikes a child, it tears at our hearts even more so. The majority of patients undergoing treatment for cancer need blood components, and many of those patients are children. The American Red Cross is pleased to offer this small gift to the children at Camp Happy Days who go there to enjoy a week of just being a kid.”
Infamously known as the 100 deadly days of summer because of the high number of tragic automobile wrecks, Memorial Day through Labor Day is also a time when the Red Cross sees a big drop in blood donations. Since most college and high school students, who account for about 15 percent of all blood donations, are out of school and other donors leave for vacation, fewer donations are made during the summer. Patients’ need for blood, though, is ongoing. Every day, accident victims as well as patients with cancer, blood disorders, sickle cell disease and other illnesses receive lifesaving transfusions.
About four million people in the United States need blood each year, and the overwhelming majority would die without it. The American Red Cross Southern Region must collect approximately 1200 units of blood a day to meet hospital demand. If all eligible donors gave blood twice a year, there would never be summer shortages.
There is no substitute for blood; volunteer donors are the only source. Blood and platelet donors must be at least 17 years old and weigh 110 pounds or more. It is safe to give blood every 56 days and platelets every two weeks. Call 1-800-GIVE LIFE or visit web.redcrossblood.org to schedule a blood donation appointment or to sponsor a blood drive at your job, school, place of worship or other location.
