The American Red Cross put out a plea last week for blood donors because of a recent drop in donations. This could leave area hospitals short and prevent sick or injured people from getting the blood products they need.
On June 29, from 1 to 7 p.m., Livermore will have a dual blood drive in two locations at the same time, and they are asking the public to help out by signing up to donate blood.
According to Jeff Meyer, CEO, American Red Cross Northern California Blood Services, "Distributions to hospitals of types O positive, O negative, B negative and A negative are outpacing donations, creating a critical need for those blood types."
Meyer also said that, "Overall, blood donations are down in the first five months of 2012, compared to the same period last year. As a result, there is almost half the amount of readily available blood in the Red Cross inventory at this point in time."
Dual Livermore Blood Drives
I've been a long-time sponsor of the Livermore Community blood drive, having coordinated 57 drives since December 2002. This year, we have the special privilege of co-sponsoring a dual drive with Team KC.
Team KC was formed by the family and friends of Korrine Croghan, who was a Granada High School freshman when she was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer, choriocarcinoma. Even though she was a small young woman, the chemo treatment she received was the equivalent that would have been given to an adult male.
During the 10-month treatment period, Korrine required over 100 units of blood to sustain her, and with her rare blood type — A negative — there was a shortage of blood to help her.
Korrine's mom, Dana Croghan said, "Korrine was white as a ghost because the chemo just wiped her out. It's a beautiful thing to see blood going into children and their cheeks pink up,"
Team KC has held two blood drives each year to honor Korrine, who would have graduated from Granada this year, had she survived. Korrine had a very positive attitude and didn't want people to worry about her. Team KC is dedicated to helping other pediatric cancer patients in a variety of ways.
We're teamed up this year to run a dual blood drive, and with the Red Cross calling for donors to come out, we're hoping to fill both drives to capacity. Last year's dual drive netted 144 units of blood, and we're hoping to blow the doors off that by getting even more people to donate this year.
We're also hoping everyone will wear their Team KC shirts to remember Korrine! If you don't have one, they will be available for sale at the drives.
How To Sign Up
Both drives are Friday, June 29 from 1 to 7 p.m. The Team KC drive will be held at , 2084 Fourth Street. The Livermore Community drive will be at , 4743 East Avenue.
Those interested in signing up for either drive can go to www.redcrossblood.org and use either TEAMKC or ASBURY925 as the sponsor code to make an appointment. They can also find other blood drives in their area by searching under their zip code or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
Eligible donors with types O positive, O negative, B negative or A negative blood are encouraged to double the difference their donation can make by donating via the innovative double red cell technology, where available.
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.
