United Blood Services is a major non-profit community blood center that provides blood, blood products and other services to more than 15 million people throughout the
“Donations are absolutely vital and will save lives,” said Allison Goodson, donor recruitment representative for United Blood Services. “We encourage every eligible member of the community to donate blood three times a year, especially this time of year because the blood supply gets very low following the holiday season.”
Transfusions of donated blood are utilized for a variety of patients following injury or major surgery, or those with chronic conditions such as hemophilia, ulcers, certain cancers and various types of anemia. For these conditions, blood transfusions are a necessity.
The benefits of donating blood are many—and not just for the recipients of donations. Frequent blood donation helps donors stay informed of their cholesterol levels and can also reduce the amount of excess iron in the blood, which may help reduce the risk of heart disease.
In addition to the reward of saving lives, United Blood Services also offers other incentives for regular blood donors with their “Hero in Us” donor benefits program. Those who donate once a year become bronze members, twice a year become silver members and three times a year become gold members. Donors are awarded points for each donation, and can redeem those points for gifts on the United Blood Services Hero in Us website at www.bloodhero.com.
Following the January 25 blood drive, Memorial will host other United Blood Services drives each month. The next scheduled date is February 23.
For more information about the upcoming blood drives or about United Blood Services, please call Allison Goodson at (337) 593-7367.