Blood donors needed during summer months

Arkansas Blood Institute said Monday all blood types are needed due to seasonal increases in usage and slowdowns in donations, as donors take vacations and engage in other summer activities.

“Patients need blood 365 days a year, but the summer months present a unique challenge since so many of us are busy with travel and activities, and we may get out of our normal donation routines,” Dr. John Armitage, president and CEO of Arkansas Blood Institute, said in a news release.

Blood drives will be held from 8 a.m. to noon today in Room 6 of the Coronado Center at Hot Springs Village, and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday and 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday in the Mercy Room of CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs.

ABI estimates that only 10 percent of people in the United States who are eligible to give blood actually do, and stresses that a blood donation takes just about an hour, and each

donation can save the lives of up to three patients.

All donors in June will receive a free Magic Springs ticket and a free, limited edition “Let the Adventure Begin” T-shirt.

“We want to give donors another extraordinary reason to give the priceless gift of blood,” Armitage said.

Donors also receive a free health screening, Donor Rewards, a blood-type card and refreshments. Donors must be at least 16 years old, feel healthy and have a photo ID; 16- and 17-year-olds can be ID’d by a parent or guardian.

If donors opt not to take the T-shirt, the funds will be donated to Global Blood Fund, a nonprofit organization that helps secure supplies and bloodmobiles for blood centers in developing countries, the release said.

Donors can make an appointment by visiting http://www.arkbi.org and choosing Find A Drive, or by calling Bob Woodall at 501-282-6072. The donor center at 149 Section Line Road is open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays.

Call the center at 624-0666 to make an appointment to give platelets, double red blood or whole blood.

Donors may credit a patient at any hospital with their blood donation. All donations support patients at 44 Arkansas hospitals including Hot Springs’ two acute-care general hospitals.

Submitted photo LIFE GIVERS: Dennis DuFresne, right, with daughters Viviana Rodriguez and Courtney Bannerman, who donated blood Saturday at Sears Court in the Hot Springs Mall. Thirty-six people donated enough blood to benefit 75 patients at area hospitals, according to Arkansas Blood Institute.