King's Daughters hosts blood drive Sept. 16

King’s Daughters will host a blood drive for the American Red Cross from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16, in the medical center’s Health Education Center (lower level of the Lexington Avenue parking garage) in Ashland.

Appointments to donate blood are not required but are suggested. To schedule your appointment, please call the American Red Cross at 1-800-733-2767.

Why give blood?*

• Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood.
• More than 41,000 donations are needed every day.
• One donation can help save the lives of three people.
• The blood used in an emergency is already on the shelves before the event occurs.
• Sickle cell disease affects more than 70,000 people in the U.S. About 1,000 babies are born with the disease each year. Sickle cell patients can require frequent blood transfusions throughout their lives.
• More than 1.6 million people were diagnosed with cancer last year. Many will need blood, sometimes daily, during their chemotherapy treatment.
• A single car accident victim can require as many as 100 pints of blood.
• An estimated 38 percent of the U.S. population is eligible to donate, but less than 10 percent actually do each year.

The American Red Cross is the nation’s largest collection organization, supplying approximately 40 percent of the blood and blood products used in our country.*