By Logan Wells, News Director | Logan@kymnradio.net
The Red Cross is hosting a blood drive at Laura Baker Services Association today from 9am to 3pm, and there are still several sign-up spots available. Charlene Hamblin is one of the local volunteers with the Red Cross who coordinates several blood drives a year; She said that Northfield is an incredibly generous community, but that they always appreciate new donors:
“We always welcome first-time donors come check it out, and once you get started, you kind of just find yourself coming back every 56 days.” – Charlene Hamblin, a local volunteer with the Red Cross on the KYMN Morning Show
For those who donate blood regularly, the Red Cross encourages donors to complete the Rapid Pass form online which can decrease the amount of time needed waiting for each individual blood donation. Alex Zidarevich says that it saves a person about 15 minutes per appointment:
“It’s a portion of the questions that you would have filled out on paper in the past, but it it basically gives you kind of like when you go to Disney, you get that jump ahead the line.” – Alex Zidarevich, Program Account Manager with the American Red Cross on the KYMN Morning Show
Find the Rapid Pass forum here.
A regular blood donation takes about 1 hour to complete; There are still several spots open to donate blood at Laura Baker today. There will also be several blood drives in the next week, including Monday and Tuesday at Carleton College and Wednesday at City Light Church. By donating, you will receive a $15 gift card and a chance to win $5,000.
The Red Cross needs 13,000 blood donations daily and is the largest provider of blood products and services 26-hundred hospitals across the country.
You can sign up for blood drives by going to redcrossblood.org or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS.
