At Pioneer Utility Resources, the publisher of Ruralite magazine, we are always working to put the right letters together to tell a story. The American Red Cross story can’t be told without three letters: A, B and O, which represent the main blood types. When those important letters are missing from blood bank shelves, lives are at stake.
With the recent hurricanes in Florida adding to the need for blood nationwide, we encourage each of you to consider donating blood by rolling up your sleeves and visiting a local Red Cross donation center between Oct. 25 and Dec. 25. Your gift of blood can save more than one life.
Visit this link—https://rcblood.org/3zJ1rxU—or scan the QR code below. Sign up to help us reach our goal and fill in the missing blood types so patients can receive the lifesaving care they need. Make and keep an appointment to give blood to the American Red Cross.
Facts About Blood Needs
- Every 2 seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood and or platelets.
- Approximately 29,000 units of red blood cells are needed every day in the U.S.
- Nearly 5,000 units of platelets and 6,500 units of plasma are needed daily in the U.S.
- Sickle cell disease affects 90,000 to 100,000 people in the U.S. About 1,000 babies are born with the disease each year. Sickle cell patients can require blood transfusions throughout their lives.
- According to the American Cancer Society, more than 1.9 million people are expected to be diagnosed with cancer in 2025. Many of them will need blood, sometimes daily, during their chemotherapy treatments.
- Nearly 16 million blood components are transfused each year in the U.S.
- The average red blood cell transfusion is approximately 3 units.
- A single-car accident victim can require as many as 100 units of blood.
- Blood and platelets cannot be manufactured; they can only come from volunteer donors.
- The blood type most often requested by hospitals is type O.
- One donation can help save more than one life.