Find a Blood Drive
Find a Blood Drive
The American Red Cross and Mercy Flight Central are urging all eligible blood donors to roll up their sleeves and give blood. The organizations are holding a Red Cross blood drive on Tuesday, May 2 from 2-7 p.m., at Mercy Flight Central, 2420 Brickyard Road, Canandaigua.
Mercy Flight Central provides critical care air medical services patients requiring advanced treatment and rapid air transport to specialized medical centers across the northeast, including those victims of trauma.
“May is Trauma Awareness Month,” said Rochester District Manager Debra Dunn, of New York-Penn Blood Services Region. “Mercy Flight Central knows firsthand how important it is to have blood readily available for emergencies. By hosting this blood drive, Mercy Flight Central is helping ensure that blood is available for patients when they need it.”
Each year traumas account for 41 million emergency department visits and 2.3 million hospital admissions across the nation, according to the National Trauma Institute. A person involved in a car accident may need as many as 100 units of blood.
Type O negative red blood cells, type AB plasma and platelets play an important role in hospitals emergency rooms and trauma centers across the country. In trauma situations, where there isn’t time to determine a patient’s blood type, emergency personnel reach for type O negative red blood cells and type AB plasma. Type O negative red blood cells and AB plasma are universal. They can be transfused to patients with any blood type. Less than 7 percent of the population has type O negative blood, and only about 4 percent of the population has AB blood type.
All blood types are needed. Walk-ins welcome, but appointments are encouraged. To make an appointment to donate blood, contact Mercy Flight Central at (585) 396-0585 or visit redcrossblood.org.
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.
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