The Blood Center celebrates World Blood Donor Day

Information provided by The Blood Center

BATON ROUGE, LA - The Blood Center celebrates World Blood Donor Day (WBDD) June 14 encouraging our community to join with blood donors around the globe to give blood. The theme this year is "Be there for someone else. Give blood. Share life."

On June 14, 2017, a gunman opened fire at a practice session for the congressional baseball team in Virginia, and Rep. Steve Scalise went to the hospital in critical condition. WBDD 2017 kicked off with a grim reminder that it's the blood available before an emergency that will save a life during one.

In a memo sent out last month to members of the House, Rep. Scalise asked them to "Join me on World Blood Donor Day. In honor of all of the heroes who saved the lives of my teammates, the coaching staff, and myself, I want to first thank you, and also let you know that I am joining… to host a blood drive (in Virginia) on the one year anniversary, Thursday, June 14, 2018. Without blood drives like this one, I wouldn't be here today, so please consider giving."

Blood is an important resource, both for planned treatments and urgent interventions. It can help patients suffering from life-threatening conditions live longer and with a higher quality of life, and supports complex medical and surgical procedures. Blood is also vital for treating the wounded during emergencies of all kinds (natural disasters, accidents, armed conflicts, etc.) and has an essential, life-saving role in maternal and perinatal care.

The Blood Center needs to collect 300 units of blood daily to serve over 40 area hospitals in Southern Louisiana and Mississippi. Visit one of The Blood Center's 10 area donor centers or a mobile blood drive in the next few days to prevent any disruption in patient care, assuring an adequate inventory level is in place.

Any healthy individual 17 (or 16 with a parental consent) and over 110 lbs. can donate whole blood every 56 days. Visit TheBloodCenter.org to find a blood drive or donor center near you, or call us at 800-86-BLOOD to organize a blood drive for your church, school, business or community event. Bring a photo ID and be sure to eat and drink plenty of fluids prior to your donation.