Community Corner
Roll Up Your Sleeve at the Costick Center Tomorrow
The Red Cross blood drive at the Costick Center on Jan. 20 needs you.
Weather plays a big role in turnout for blood drives this time of year, but there's another factor that has the putting out a special plea for a Thursday blood drive in Farmington Hills.
Cold weather leads some to reconsider giving. Severe snow storms have slowed donations across the country, which leads to a low supply of blood. But it's also flu season, and regular donors can’t give blood with the flu or cold.
That’s why this Thursday, Jan. 20, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., the American Red Cross Southeast Michigan chapter will sponsor a blood drive at the on 11 Mile Road, east of Middlebelt. January is National Blood Donor Month, and the need is much greater than normal.
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City manager Steve Brock encourages people to come to the Costick Center to donate. He understands the importance of giving; that’s why he’s a regular donor.
“They’re chronically short of blood in this area,” said Brock. “They used a lot in Tucson recently, and they’ve been going to other sources to get blood, so it may even help people that don’t necessarily live in this region. With more people are traveling out of the country there’s less people that are eligible, so if you are eligible, please take it upon yourself to do a good thing.”
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Martha Kurtz, communications specialist with the American Red Cross of Southeast Michigan, says the need is constant.
“Every day in southeastern Michigan, we need 900 units of blood donated in order to make sure the hospitals have the supply that they need,” said Kuntz. “When one day is down, we spend some time trying to make up for that in subsequent days. One day is low, then that falls back to the next day and sometimes it takes a little while to build it back up.”
The Red Cross hopes to have plenty of people attend the drive, but Kuntz says the best way to get in and out quickly is by making an appointment through redcrossblood.org. Scheduling ahead will keep you from having to wait and prevents overwhelming of staff.
To make an appointment to donate on Jan. 20, call 248-473-1800 or register online at redcrossblood.org. Enter the sponsor code costickcenter and follow the instructions to set up an appointment time for the blood drive.
