|
|||||
|
Get rolling and donate blood Get rolling and donate bloodPOSTED 09/18/08 NASSAU COUNTY, FL - Blood is life. The Blood Alliance, formerly the Florida-Georgia Blood Alliance, is responsible for maintaining a blood supply for Nassau County and other North Florida residents. It needs our help. Most, if not all, blood obtained here is used here and not shipped elsewhere. The Red Cross does not operate blood drives in this area. The next Hilliard Blood Drive is this Saturday, 11 am - 4 pm, at the Winn-Dixie parking lot on US 1 near Wendy's. Besides having the potential of being a hero -- saving three lives with a donation of just one pint of blood -- there's an added incentive this month. The Blood Alliance website (http://Igiveblood.com) mentions that anyone donating blood at any Jacksonville donor center or mobile unit during the month of September will receive a free Skating Pass good at both the Mandarin Skate Station and the Orange Park Skate Station. Contact Amanda Wittenberg at the Blood Alliance, 353-8263 x 2348 for more information. You can find the answers to most of your questions regarding donating blood at this Internet address. Who can donate blood? Generally, anyone in good health, at least 17 years old, and weighs at least 110 pounds may donate blood every 56 days. Part of the time spent in making a donation involves completing a health history questionnaire and screening interview. One question I've heard asked involves body piercings. Generally you can donate under these circumstances if the piercing was done professionally and by a sterile needle or a single use tool. Tattooing normally carries a one year deferral. You can review the FAQs: About Donating Blood on the website. If you have any questions, all you have to do is ask. For your info, our contact at the Blood Alliance is Brad Billingsley, 353-8263, ext 2328. His e-mail is bbillingsley@thebloodalliance.org. If you wish to schedule a drive, please contact him directly. Remember that you can also dedicate your blood donation by name to assist another. How can we make blood drives better for Callahan and Hilliard? How can we do better than other communities in the County, especially Fernandina Beach and Yulee? We have a committee in West Nassau County and we're looking for new members. We are committed to the idea so well expressed in the movie FIELD OF DREAMS. "If You Build It, They Will Come." No, we're not proposing building a baseball diamond in the middle of nowhere, but we are hoping that our ideas might draw more potential donors - or even more important, more of our potential donors' children. The idea is two fold - children need something to do and someone to watch them while their parents are giving blood. Also, if we can catch the children's eyes, they might bring their parents to the drive so we can catch the parents. Some ideas have already been floated - a model railroad set up and a petting zoo - but we haven't gotten all the "i's" dotted and the "t's" crossed yet. . We're also hoping to have food and drink available for our donors and their children. Our committee plans to meet at the First United Methodist Church in Callahan and will cover both communities (Bryceville is part of Callahan for this purpose.) If you'd like to be on that committee or know of someone you believe should be on it, please have them contact me at (904) 400-0458 or by e-mail at my_column1@yahoo.com. Potential members need to let me know the best day and time for them. Brad and the Blood Alliance believe they can accommodate any time and date we wish - we have only to ask. Before I can ask them, however, I need to know from you. Please let me know and let's do a better job than ever before. Hope to see you Saturday. |
      |
||||
