Bedford, OH - They've shared their lives with
tiny leukemia patients and fragile transplant recipients. They've
given hope to hemophiliacs,
accident victims and millions of others in need. They are a rare
breed of heroes willing to sacrifice a small part of themselves
to save the life of a member of their community. They are blood
donors. Without them, millions of patients across the country
would be unable to survive routine medical procedures.
Even though so many are willing to share so much, there is
still a constant struggle to maintain a community's blood supply.
Blood
banks cannot store blood for long periods of time. Blood has
a very short shelf life needing constant replenishing. About
14 million units of blood are donated each year by approximately
eight million donors and received by approximately four million
patients. On any given day, approximately 40,000 units of red
cells are needed.
University Hospitals Health System Bedford Medical Center is
sponsoring a LifeShare Blood Drive on Wednesday, January 27,
1998 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Conference Rooms 1 and 2. The medical
center is located at 44 Blaine Ave. in Bedford, Ohio. For more
information or to make an appointment, call Mary Meier at (440)
439-2010 ext. 5701.
LifeShare is a nonprofit, independent blood services organization
created in 1995 as an outreach program of the fifty-year-old
Lorain County Blood Bank. The blood collected by LifeShare
stays in the community where it is drawn. LifeShare's processing fees
are the lowest in the state. The substantial savings to hospitals
and patients are more than $150,000 annually.
LifeShare is not affiliated with the American Red Cross, an
organization that distributes blood across the nation. LifeShare
supplies
fifty percent of the blood and blood products used by University
Hospitals Health System and Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital.
