{"id":67744,"date":"2016-04-27T11:14:25","date_gmt":"2016-04-27T15:14:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=67744"},"modified":"2016-04-26T23:19:46","modified_gmt":"2016-04-27T03:19:46","slug":"donating-blood-helps-save-lives-in-the-emergency-room","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=67744","title":{"rendered":"Donating blood helps save lives in the emergency room"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Give<\/a>Red Cross urges blood and platelet donation in recognition of\u00a0Trauma Awareness Month<\/em><\/h4>\n

May is Trauma Awareness Month and the American Red\u00a0Cross urges eligible donors to give blood or platelets to help ensure lifesaving blood products\u00a0are available for trauma patients and others with serious medical needs.\u00a0Each year, trauma accounts for approximately 41 million emergency department visits and 2.3\u00a0million hospital admissions in the U.S., according to the National Trauma Institute. A single car\u00a0accident victim can need as many as 100 units of blood.<\/p>\n

The Red Cross provides blood to approximately 2,600 hospitals nationwide, including 87\u00a0throughout the New York-Penn Region.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the blood products on the shelves that helps save lives in an emergency,\u201d said Nick Gehrig,\u00a0communications director, Red Cross Blood Services. \u201cWhen seconds matter, having a readily\u00a0available blood supply is critical to trauma patient care.\u201d<\/p>\n

When there is not time to determine a patient\u2019s blood type, such as in trauma situations, type O\u00a0negative blood and type AB plasma are what emergency personnel reach for because they can\u00a0be given to patients with any blood type. Less than 7 percent of the population has type O negative blood, and only about 4 percent of the population has type AB blood. Donors with\u00a0these blood types are an important part of the trauma team and encouraged to donate as often\u00a0as they are eligible.<\/p>\n

Donors of all blood types are currently needed. Blood donation appointments can be scheduled\u00a0by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting redcrossblood.org or calling 1-800-RED\u00a0CROSS (1-800-733-2767).\u00a0Donated blood helped save Diana Heredia\u2019s life following a car accident. Suffering from four\u00a0broken ribs, a lacerated liver and a punctured lung, Heredia received about five units of blood.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u00a0was in pretty bad shape \u2013 hospitalized for about 28 days,\u201d she said. \u201cEver since I’ve tried to\u00a0recruit blood donors, have blood drives and give blood as much as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

About donating blood or platelets<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

A blood donor card or driver\u2019s license or two other forms of identification are required when\u00a0checking in. Individuals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental consent in some states),\u00a0weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood.\u00a0High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain\u00a0height and weight requirements.<\/p>\n

Blood donors can now save time at their next donation by using RapidPass to complete their\u00a0pre-donation reading and health history questionnaire online, on the day of their donation, prior\u00a0to arriving at the blood drive. To get started and learn more, visit redcrossblood.org\/RapidPass\u00a0and follow the instructions on the site.<\/p>\n

About the American Red Cross<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters;\u00a0supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides\u00a0international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross\u00a0is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American\u00a0public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit\u00a0redcross.org\u00a0or\u00a0cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at\u00a0@RedCross.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Red Cross urges blood and platelet donation in recognition of\u00a0Trauma Awareness Month May is Trauma Awareness Month and the American Red\u00a0Cross urges eligible donors to give blood or platelets to help ensure lifesaving blood products\u00a0are available for trauma patients and others with serious medical needs.\u00a0Each year, trauma accounts for approximately 41 million emergency department visits […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53129,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=67744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/53129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=67744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=67744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=67744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}