Lyons High School will be hosting a blood drive on
Wednesday, November 15th
from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM in the LHS gymnasium.
To schedule your appointment, call the LHS office at 620-257-5114.
Don’t forget to save time by using RapidPass to complete your pre-donation reading and health history online before you come to your appointment. More info: redcrossblood.org/RapidPass
A photo ID or Red Cross Donor Card is required.
The actual blood donation usually takes about 10 minutes. The entire process, from the time you sign in to the time you leave, takes about an hour.
Students age 17 and up can donate if they meet eligibility requirements. 16-year-olds must have a signed parental consent upon registration on Monday.
Parental Consent Blood Donation
Height and Weight Eligibility -
https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/how-to-donate/info-for-student-donors.html
Make an Appointment to Donate Blood:
To schedule your life-saving appointment visit www.redcrossblood.org – search sponsor code: LyonsHigh or contact Leslie in the LHS office.
Download the Blood Donor App today. Get your digital donor card, schedule your next appointment, track your lifetime donations, view your blood pressure, and follow your donation on its way to a hospital.
Save time by using the Red Cross Rapid Pass Link
Thank you!
It’s a fact… you must wait 56 days between whole blood donations. Now here are 56 other facts about giving blood:
- 4.5 million Americans will need a blood transfusion each year.
- 43,000 pints: the amount of donated blood used each day in the U.S. and Canada.
- Someone needs blood every two seconds.
- Only 37 percent of the U.S. population is eligible to donate blood - less than 10 percent do annually.**
- About one in seven people entering a hospital need blood.
- One pint of blood can save up to three lives.
- Healthy adults who are at least 17 years old, and at least 110 pounds may donate about a pint of blood - the most common form of donation - every 56 days, or every two months. Females receive 53 percent of blood transfusions; males receive 47 percent.
- 94 percent of blood donors are registered voters.
- Four main red blood cell types: A, B, AB, and O. Each can be positive or negative for the Rh factor. AB is the universal recipient; O negative is the universal donor of red blood cells.
- Dr. Karl Landsteiner first identified the major human blood groups - A, B, AB, and O - in 1901.
- One unit of blood can be separated into several components: red blood cells, plasma, platelets, and cryoprecipitate.
- Red blood cells carry oxygen to the body's organs and tissues.
- Red blood cells live about 120 days in the circulatory system.
- Platelets promote blood clotting and give those with leukemia and other cancers a chance to live.
- Plasma is a pale yellow mixture of water, proteins, and salts.
- Plasma, which is 90 percent water, makes up 55 percent of blood volume.
- Healthy bone marrow makes a constant supply of red cells, plasma, and platelets.
- Blood or plasma that comes from people who have been paid for it cannot be used for human transfusion.
- Granulocytes, a type of white blood cell, roll along blood vessel walls in search of bacteria to engulf and destroy.
- White cells are the body's primary defense against infection.
- Apheresis is a special kind of blood donation that allows a donor to give specific blood components, such as platelets.
- Forty-two days: how long most donated red blood cells can be stored.
- Five days: how long most donated platelets can be stored.
- One year: how long frozen plasma can be stored?
- Much of today's medical care depends on a steady supply of blood from healthy donors.
- Three pints: the average whole blood and red blood cell transfusion.*
- Children being treated for cancer, premature infants, and children having heart surgery need blood and platelets from donors of all types, especially type O.
- Anemic patients need blood transfusions to increase their red blood cell levels.
- Cancer, transplant, and trauma patients, and patients undergoing open-heart surgery may require platelet transfusions to survive.
- Sickle cell disease is an inherited disease that affects more than 80,000 people in the United States, 98 percent of whom are of African descent.
- Many patients with severe sickle cell disease receive blood transfusions every month.
- A patient could be forced to pass up a lifesaving organ if compatible blood is not available to support the transplant.
- Thirteen tests (11 for infectious diseases) are performed on each unit of donated blood.
- Seventeen percent of non-donors cite "never thought about it" as the main reason for not giving, while 15 percent say they're too busy.
- The number one reason blood donors say they give is because they "want to help others."
- Shortages of all blood types happen during the summer and winter holidays.
- Blood centers often run short of types O and B red blood cells.
- The rarest blood type is the one not on the shelf when it's needed by a patient.
- There is no substitute for human blood.
- If all blood donors gave three times a year, blood shortages would be a rare event. (The current average is about two.).
- If only one more percent of all Americans would give blood, blood shortages would disappear for the foreseeable future.
- 46.5 gallons: the amount of blood you could donate if you begin at age 17 and donate every 56 days until you reach 79 years old.
- Four easy steps to donate blood: medical history, quick physical, donation, and snacks.
- The actual blood donation usually takes about 10 minutes. The entire process - from the time you sign in to the time you leave - takes about an hour.
- After donating blood, you replace the fluid in hours and the red blood cells within four weeks. It takes eight weeks to restore the iron lost after donating.
- You cannot get AIDS or any other infectious disease by donating blood.
- 10 pints is the amount of blood in the body of an average adult.
- One unit of whole blood is roughly the equivalent of one pint.
- Blood makes up about seven percent of your body's weight.
- A newborn baby has about one cup of blood in his body.
- Giving blood will not decrease your strength.
- Any company, community organization, place of worship, or individual may contact their local community blood center to host a blood drive.
- Blood drives hosted by companies, schools, places of worship, and civic organizations supply roughly half of all blood donations across the U.S.
- People who donate blood are volunteers and are not paid for their donation.
- 500,000: the number of Americans who donated blood in the days following the September 11 attacks.
- Blood donation. It's about an hour of your time. It's About Life.
*Source: The 2007 Nationwide Blood Collection and Utilization Survey Report, Department of Health & Human Services. **W Riley, et al. The United States' potential blood donor pool: estimating the prevalence of donor-exclusion factors on the pool of potential donors. Transfusion 2007.
Did you know that every year on 14 June, countries around the world celebrate World Blood Donor Day (WBDD). The event was organized for the first time in 2005, by a joint initiative of the World Health Organisation, the International Federation of Red Cross, and Red Crescent Societies to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products, and to thank blood donors for their voluntary, life-saving gifts of blood. Source: wikipedia.org
How to Prepare for a Great Donor Experience
The American Red Cross wants your donation to be as safe and successful as possible. The following suggestions may help you prepare for your blood donation.
Between donations
Give your body plenty of iron. When you donate whole blood or double red cells, your body loses some iron contained in red blood cells. Eat plenty of iron-rich food to replace these cells between donations.
Foods rich in iron include:
• red meat
• fish
• poultry
• beans
• iron-fortified cereal
• broccoli
• spinach
• raisins
• prunes
Also, foods rich in Vitamin C (such as citrus fruit) help your body absorb the iron you eat. But avoid drinking tea, coffee, and other caffeinated beverages with meals since caffeine can reduce iron absorption.
Before donation:
Sleep well. Get at least eight hours of sleep the night before you plan to donate.
Eat a good breakfast or lunch. This also will help your body be well prepared for giving blood.
Maintain a nutritious, well-balanced diet with foods rich in iron and high in vitamin C.
Make sure you are feeling well.
Day of donation:
- Drink extra water and fluids before you donate to replace the volume of blood you will donate. You should continue drinking extra fluids after the donation, too.
- Eat the right foods. Having foods containing lean proteins or complex carbohydrates, such as bread, cereal, fruit, or lean meat may make you feel more comfortable during and after donating.
- Avoid fatty foods, such as hamburgers or french fries, before donating. The tests that are part of our vigorous safety screening can be affected by fatty materials that appear in your blood for several hours. When this occurs, testing cannot be performed, and we may not be able to use your blood.
- Relax! Spend 10 to 15 minutes relaxing in the refreshment area.
- Have a drink and snack to rejuvenate yourself.
To be eligible to donate blood you must:
• Be at least 17 years old (16 with parental permission in some states)
• Meet height and weight requirements (at least 110 pounds based on height)
• Be in generally good health
Before donating you should:
• Get a good night’s sleep
• Drink plenty of fluids
• Eat within 2-3 hours
Be sure to bring your:
• Donor card or a government-issued photo I.D.
• Parental consent form if you are a 16-year-old donor
• Wear clothing with sleeves that can be raised above the elbow
Iron FAQs
To help patients in need regain their health, the Red Cross relies on healthy donors. Healthy habits, including maintaining your iron and hemoglobin levels, can also help improve your donation experience. Learn more about being a healthy blood donor at redcrossblood.org/healthydonors.
How will I know if my iron level is healthy enough to donate?
Prior to donating, the Red Cross will test a droplet of your blood to measure your hemoglobin level. Hemoglobin is a protein in red blood cells that contains iron and gives blood its red color. Hemoglobin carries oxygen from your lungs to nourish all the tissues in your body.
To be healthy enough to donate, men must have a level of at least 13.0 g/dL and women must have a level of at least 12.5 g/dL. If your hemoglobin is too low, we’ll ask you to wait and try to donate another time.
What is iron and how can I keep my levels healthy?
Iron is a mineral nutrient that your body needs to function normally. You need iron to make new red blood cells to replace those lost during blood donation. Your body gets iron from your diet, which is why we encourage donors to maintain a nutritious, well-balanced diet with plenty of foods rich in iron and high in vitamin C.
What if I’m deferred for low hemoglobin?
You may be able to donate again in the future. It is normal for hemoglobin levels to fluctuate, but there are some things you can do to help boost your levels:
1. Choose foods rich in iron and create food combinations that will increase the absorption
of iron:
• the best source of iron is lean red meat
• for non-meat meals, choose iron-rich foods such as legumes
• include plenty of vitamin C in your diet
• consider fortified foods, or foods with added iron such as some breakfast cereals
2. Drink tea, coffee, and milk between meals instead of with meals
3. Consider eating iron-rich snacks such as raisins, nuts, dates, prunes, or figs
Some donors, especially those who are young or donate frequently, may want to talk with a healthcare provider about taking a multivitamin with iron or an iron supplement to help replace iron lost through blood donations. You can learn more about iron levels and blood donations at redcrossblood.org/iron.