Find a Blood Drive
Find a Blood Drive
The Red Cross and Suburban Propane work together to help save lives
This summer, roll up a sleeve, give blood and help ensure patients in the Baraboo community and across the country have the blood products they need. The American Red Cross is hosting a blood drive Friday, June 16 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 727 Eight St., in Baraboo.
The Red Cross is grateful for the relationship built with the Baraboo community and their support in hosting blood drives. Giving blood is a simple way to put the Baraboo’s community spirit of service into action and help save lives.
Those who come to donate can enjoy an on-site cookout catered by Broadway Diner and get a $10 Visa gift card and picnic style food sponsored by Suburban Propane, while supplies last. For the third summer, Suburban Propane is a proud national sponsor of the Red Cross Blood Services. By partnering together they educate the public about the need for blood and platelets.
Blood donations often decline during the summer months when busy summer schedules and vacation plans can cause some donors to be less available to give. Additionally, blood donations at high school and college blood drives, which account for as much as 20 percent of blood donations during the school year, decline when many schools are out of session. But, the need for blood remains constant.
“Patients don’t get a summer holiday or vacation from needing blood. The need is constant,” said Jody Weyers, donor recruitment account manager for the American Red Cross Badger-Hawkeye Blood Services Region. “We appreciate the community supporting our lifesaving mission and helping to make sure hospitals are ready to respond to patient needs.”
Every two seconds in the United States blood is needed to respond to patient emergencies, including accident and burn victims, heart surgery and organ transplant patients, and those receiving treatment for leukemia, cancer or sickle cell disease. The Red Cross must collect nearly 14,000 blood and platelet donations every day for the patients at about 2,600 hospitals nationwide.
Blood donors of all types are needed. There is no substitute for donated blood products.
How to donate blood
Simply download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) 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 in most states (16 with parental consent where allowed by state law), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally 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.
Blood donors can now save time at their next donation by using RapidPass to complete their pre-donation reading and health history questionnaire online, on the day of their donation, prior to arriving at the blood drive. To get started and learn more, visit redcrossblood.org/RapidPass and follow the instructions on the site.
About the American Red Cross
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 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 cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.