The American Red Cross and the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) are
honored to partner with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to encourage the
community to donate blood and join the bone marrow registry in honor of
the Grys family. Keep reading for details.
Blood drives being held in conjunction with the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition building project are:
o Friday, October 24, Pekin Edison Junior High, 1400 Earl St., 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
o Saturday, October 25, Pekin Edison Junior High, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
o Saturday, October 25, Bloodmobile near building site, TBA, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
o Monday, October 27, Bloodmobile near building site, TBA, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
All presenting donors at the school drives on Friday and Saturday will also have the chance to join the NMDP Registry for free, a savings of $52. (Please see below for more information about the NMDP.)
Desi, one of the designers from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, will be donating blood on Friday and signing autographs during the Saturday blood and bone marrow drives.
Eligible blood donors are encouraged to attend the autograph session, but also to consider giving an hour of their time to donate blood as a way of honoring the Grys family during the construction of their new home.
Presenting blood donors will have the opportunity to sign a special poster that will be presented to the Grys family.
In addition, monetary donations will be collected at the blood drives for the Grys family.
Donors need to be at least 17 years of age , or 16-years-old with a signed Red Cross parental/guardian consent form where state permits, must weigh at least 110 pounds and be in general good health. Eligible donors can call 1.800.GIVE.LIFE or go online to givebloodgivelife.org for more information and to make a blood donation appointment.
GENERAL INFO ABOUT BLOOD DONATION
- Blood is a perishable product. Red blood cells have a shelf life of only 42 days and platelets just 5 days, so they must be replenished constantly – there simply is no substitute.
- Under normal circumstances, approximately every 2 seconds someone in America will need a blood transfusion.
- A recent study suggests that the eligible donor pool is shrinking, with only about 38 percent of the U.S. population eligible to donate, and only about 8 percent of those eligible actually donating blood. The eligible donor pool was previously thought to be 60 percent of the U.S. population, with 5 percent of those eligible actually donating.
GENERAL INFO ABOUT THE NMDP
- Participants in the NMDP Registry need to be 18 to 60 years old, in good health and willing to join the registry for any patient in need.
- A tissue sample will be taken by buccal swab; a technique that uses a cotton swab inside the mouth to collect cheek cells.
- Joining the NMDP Registry will take 20 to 30 minutes.
- If someone has been deferred from donating blood, they may still be eligible for the NMDP Registry. The NMDP staff will make eligibility determinations.
- Once someone joins the NMDP, they do not have to be retested. The results will stay in the NMDP Registry until the donor turns 61 years old.
