North Platte Rotary blood drive aims to boost the blood supply

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. – Each year, the American Red Cross and the North Platte Rotary Club partner to engage the community to give blood during the annual spring Rotary Bloodhounds Blood Drive.

The Rotary Club has boosted the blood supply by nearly 1,100 pints during the Bloodhounds drives the past seven years. This year the Bloodhounds are at work again sniffing out new and returning blood donors to add another 158 pints to their total. Those pints come at an especially needed time for the Red Cross as blood products are currently going out to hospitals as quickly as they are coming in from generous donors.

“Your blood is needed more than you think. In fact, every two seconds someone in America needs blood,” said Tricia Quinn, CEO of the local Red Cross Blood Services Region. “In the hour it takes to volunteer to donate blood, you can help save the lives of patients in your community and across the country.”

Make a difference. Be a Red Cross volunteer blood donor and join a family of blood donors across the community in a lifesaving cause.

How to Donate Blood

Simply call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit redcrossblood.org to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver’s license, or two other forms of identification are required at check-in.  Individuals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental permission in some states), weigh at least 110 pounds and are generally in good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements. 

About the American Red Cross

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies more than 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.

About Rotary

Rotary is a worldwide organization of more than 1.2 million business, professional, and community leaders. Members of Rotary clubs, known as Rotarians, provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world.

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