Blood supplies run low ahead of holiday

A local blood center is hoping the spirit of patriotism will move residents to donate blood for the July 4th holiday.
In addition to the satisfaction of helping others, those who donate will receive tokens of appreciation, including a $10 Wal-Mart gift card and a beach towel from the Southeastern Community Blood Center. The center recently reported a 10 percent decline in blood donations since this time last year.
However, center representatives are heartened by a recent altruistic gesture made by employees at two area correctional facilities.
In June, wardens of the Apalachee Correctional Institution and the Northwest Florida Reception Center challenged each other to a friendly blood drive competition.
“The wardens really deserve a gold medal for getting behind their employees and really working these drives the way they did,” area drive coordinator Sue Harrison said.
Where a typical blood drive at the prison might bring about 25 units of blood, the two facilities donated a total of 237 units, Harrison said.
“This will really help us going in to the Fourth of July holiday weekend,” Harrison said. “Maybe it will spark motivation with other area prisons and businesses.”
More blood, however, is still needed, she said.
The decline in donations has forced the center to import blood from outside the community to keep up with local hospital patients’ demands, the center reported.
Currently, several blood types stand at a one to two-day supplies. They are O, B and A, both Rh positive and negative.
Since it takes 48 hours to process a unit of donated blood, the blood given before July 4 is actually what will be available for any traffic accidents or trauma situations that occur on, or around, the holiday.
Beginning July 1, donors will receive a plush blue “blood donor beach bum” towel. The incentive will last throughout the month, with July 4 donors receiving the towel, as well as a $10 Wal-Mart gift card.
The center has set a goal to collect 150 donations on July 4.
In an effort to reach that number, the center’s Tallahassee location will be open on July 4 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Mobile units will be located at the following locations that day:
• Wal-Mart in Marianna, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Wal-Mart on Mahan in Tallahassee, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Wal-Mart in Callaway, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
To be a donor, individuals have to be in good health, at least 17 years old (16 years old with a parent’s permission) and weigh a minimum of 110 pounds.
For more information,  visit http://www.scbcinfo.org.