Plan to give at the Greenville Community Blood Drive
The first Greenville community blood drive of the year will be held on the last day of this month, Wednesday, March 31, between noon and 5:30 in the Town Hall behind the fire department. It will be conducted by Vitalant Blood Bank (www.bloodhero.com) and follows on the footsteps of the recent Quincy blood drive.
There are many appointment slots remaining in the Greenville drive between noon and 5 p.m. Donors can go online at www.bloodheros.com to create a Vitalant account and search for blood drive sponsor code N1GVC (or search by zip code 95947) to make an appointment. If a computer is not convenient, please call Sherilyn Schwartz, the local coordinator, at 284-1055 to make an appointment.
“The need for blood is always critical. We hope new and long-time donors will be willing and able to step forward to fill this need,” according to Schwartz. “We urge new and current donors to give blood or plasma at our upcoming blood drive.”
The time required between donations is 56 days for whole blood, 112 days between double red cell donations. After this drive, the next will be in June (Quincy) and in July (Greenville).
The need for blood or plasma continues to be great! March is Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month and many patients rely on regular donations to support their treatment. Bleeding disorders result when blood’s clotting ability is impaired. Von Willebrand disease is the most common, with about 3.2 million Americans affected. About 33,000 people in the U.S. also have hemophilia.
Bleeding disorders can cause chronic pain, joint damage, and uncontrollable bleeding. Blood donors help provide the blood components needed by these patients for their treatment. Patients with other blood disorders, like sickle cell disease, often rely on routine blood transfusions to help lessen anemia, ease disease symptoms, and prevent complications.
