(Thursday, June 8, 2006, ATLANTA) – The American Red Cross is hoping that a new Summer Platelet Hero program will cause donors to stream to its donor centers this summer and help prevent a shortage, much like platelets surge to the site of a wound to stop bleeding. Platelets, the component in blood which allows it to clot, are needed during surgery and to treat patients with blood disorders and others undergoing chemotherapy.

To qualify as a Summer Platelet Hero, donors have to present to donate platelets a minimum of five times between June 1– August 31, 2006. Qualified donors can enter their names in a raffle to win two domestic roundtrip tickets from Delta Air Lines. Donations can be made at any of the American Red Cross’ 14 donor centers across Georgia.

To make an appointment or to find the donor center nearest you, please call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE (448-3543) or log on to www.givebloodredcross.org.   

“There are scores of patients across our region who daily undergo lifesaving treatment that leave them vulnerable to hemorrhaging,” says Candice Gulden, communications director of American Red Cross Blood Services Southern Region, which covers Georgia and parts of Florida and South Carolina. “We must have a constant supply to send out to hospitals to meet patient needs.”

“Because platelets only last five days but are in such high demand, the supply must constantly be replenished. The Summer Platelet Hero program is intended to prevent a shortage from occurring this summer. At the same time, we hope it will help highlight the constant need for platelets and encourage regular donations from eligible donors all year round,” says Gulden.

Platelet donation is done through a special process called apheresis, during which blood is drawn into a sterile machine and separated into its components.  The platelets are collected while the other blood components are returned to the donor. This process allows the Red Cross to collect up to eight times more platelets than through a standard blood donation.

Most healthy people age 17 or older, who weigh at least 110 pounds, can donate blood every 56 days or platelets every two weeks, up to 24 times each year. The American Red Cross Blood Services Southern Region needs approximately 1,200 people to donate blood each weekday to meet the needs of hospital patients.