Local Blood Drives
Blood Services
Each year, Red Cross volunteers help collect more than 6 million units of blood from more than 4 million volunteer blood donors. These donations amount to nearly half the nation’s blood supply and help save countless lives.
To get the most out of each unit donated, the Red Cross processes the blood into various components. The Red Cross then distributes this processed blood to help treat people suffering from many types of blood-related conditions, including hemophilia, sickle cell anemia, and leukemia. In addition, Red Cross scientists are continually doing research and testing blood for signs of infectious disease – including the AIDS (HIV) antibody – to ensure the safest blood and blood products we can provide.
Other Red Cross blood services include –
- Offering patients the opportunity to donate their own blood for certain kinds of surgery.
- Identifying and recruiting healthy blood donors to help insure an adequate blood supply.
- Educating physicians and patients about blood and the latest techniques in blood transfusions.
- Conducting research to help improve the safety and therapeutic benefits of blood.
- Maintaining a national registry of thousands of volunteer blood donors who provide rare blood types to meet emergency needs.
- Lending technical assistance to hospitals, their blood banks, and medical staffs.
Transplantation Services
Transplantation Services, the newest of Red Cross services, collects, processes, and distributes tissue products. Tissues include cornea for sight, temporal bone for hearing, skin for burn patients, heart valves for heart defects, bone for orthopedic procedure, tendon and ligaments, and other tissues. These tissues help one-half million Americans a year to live more normal, productive lives. In this new field of transplantation, the Red Cross is the nation’s largest single organization committed to providing the safest and highest quality of tissue products.
Transplantation services objectives are to –
- Distribute quality, lifesaving tissue products to those with disabling conditions.
- Educate the public, and health professionals about the needs and benefits of transplantation.
- Train transplant technicians so that tissue is available for transplantation
To find a blood drive in your area - click here.
or call 1-800-Give-Life.