Blood drive on June 23

The American Red Cross invites you to give the gift of life by donating blood at OWASA on Thursday, June 23rd. The blood drive will be held from 10 AM to 2:30 PM in the Community Room on the lower floor of the Administration Building, 400 Jones Ferry Road, Carrboro. For a map showing OWASA’s location,please click here.

Parking will be available on the west side of the Administration Building (the left side of the building when seen from Jones Ferry Road), near the entrance to the Community Room.

The blood drive comes at an important time of year for the Red Cross. With schools out of session and summer vacations underway, donors may be less apt to give blood. Unfortunately, hospital patients don’t get a summer break from needing blood. The Red Cross urges donors to choose a day to give the gift of life this summer. Every day, blood is needed for lifesaving transfusions to treat trauma patients, premature babies and patients with cancer, sickle cell disease, blood disorders and other illnesses.

“Giving blood is a selfless act,” said Ryan Corcoran, donor recruitment director for the Carolinas Blood Services Region. “The hour it takes to give the gift of life can mean a lifetime to a patient with a serious medical need.”

Donors must be in general good health, have photo identification, weigh at least 110 pounds and be at least 17 years old (16 years old with parental consent).  High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.

For an appointment, please visit www.redcrossblood.org and enter “owasa” as the sponsor code or contact Kelly Thompson at 919-537-4370 or kthompson@owasa.org.  To give blood without making an appointment, please come to the drive at noon or later. Information and appointments are also available from the American Red Cross at 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or www.redcrossblood.org.

Blood donors can now save time at their next donation by using RapidPass to complete their pre-donation reading and health history questionnaire online, on the day of their donation, prior to arriving at the blood drive. To get started and learn more, visit redcrossblood.org/RapidPass and follow the instructions on the site.

Upcoming blood drives at OWASA

August 24                              10 AM – 2:30 PM

October 27                             10 AM – 2:30 PM

December 29                        10 AM – 2:30 PM