DONOR CENTER HOURS Monday 10:00am - 2:00pm Tuesday 2:00pm - 6:00pm Wednesday 2:00pm - 6:00pm Thursday 2:00pm - 6:00pm Friday CLOSED Saturday 8:00am - 12:00pm (HOLIDAY WEEK HOURS MAY VARY) For a donor appointment, call 234-6831

• Every two seconds, someone in this country needs blood.

• Every day, the Red Cross must collect 800 blood donations in our region to meet patient need.

• You must weigh at least 110 pounds and be at least 17 years old and in good health to donate blood.

• All blood types are needed constantly, but there is a special need for O negative, O positive and B negative blood.

• Every unit of blood can be separated into several components, helping save the lives of three or more patients.

• The Red Cross is the premiere collection agency for blood and blood products. The Red Cross also is involved in processing and distributing blood and blood products. The Red Cross also does research and development projects aimed at better understanding blood to benefit the entire nation's health care system.

Want to be someone's Hero 4 Life?

If you have donated whole blood at least once and are at least 17 years old and weigh 110 pounds, you could try another way of saving lives through a process called Platelet Apheresis (ay-fer-EE-sis).

Here is how it works. Platelets are collected using a special donation process. A relatively small amount of blood is drawn from a donor's arm and goes into a special machine. This blood is rapidly spun in a centrifuge, which separates the platelet cells from the other blood components. The platelets go into a sterile plastic bag while the remaining blood components are returned through the donor's other arm. This cycle is repeated several times until enough platelets are collected. This donation process usually takes about 1 1/2 to 2 hours and donors should feel perfectly fine after their donation.

To make an appointment call (319) 234-6831 Ext #74

COPYRIGHT 2000, The American Red Cross Hawkeye Chapter. All rights reserved.