Blood drive in Hastings planned for Jan 21-22

The Hastings community Red Cross blood drive will be held Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 21 and Jan. 22, at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church. Each donation means helping more than one person, organizers say.

The blood drive will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday; and from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, at the church, 400 W. Ninth St.

To make an appointment, call Gail at 651-248-1173.

Up to four life-saving blood components can be derived from each pint given.

Red cells carry oxygen throughout the body. It has a shelf life of 42 days and is given to trauma and surgery patients.

Platelets help prevent massive blood loss. It has a shelf life of only five days. It is transfused to cancer patients, organ transplant patients and surgery patients.

Plasma carries platelets, red cells and proteins throughout the body. It has a shelf life of one year (frozen). It is used for burn victims and patients with bleeding disorders. Cryoprecipitate is the portion of plasma that is rich in clotting factors. Its shelf life is a year (frozen). It helps patients suffering from hemophilia and Van Willebrand disease.

Currently, the Red Cross has an urgent need for O Negative and B Negative blood donations. However, volunteer blood donors of all blood types are needed to maintain n a strong and stable blood supply. Donors with type O negative and B negative blood are especially needed now as hospital distributions of these blood types are outpacing donations causing an urgent need situation.

Every day, the Red Cross must collect more than 17,000 pints of blood for patients at more than 3,000 hospitals and transfusion centers across the country. The need for blood is constant; and every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood.

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