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Blood donations are vital to UP hospitals, especially in winter when supplies decline due to extreme weather and seasonal illness.
UP Regional Blood Center Donor Services Tech Jaceley Babcock says the Blood Center holds numerous blood drives every month across the U.P.
Babcock said, “We serve 13 hospitals throughout the U.P. All of our blood stays right in the U.P., so it’s kind of a yoopers helping yoopers. You know, we don’t have a lot of support from outside services, so we always are look for new people come and help us out.”
The UP Regional Blood Center’s website has a list of upcoming blood donation opportunities and information on the supply needs of local hospitals.
The donation process itself is easy. If you are a healthy person age 17 or older, or 16 with parental consent, you should attend a blood drive and have your vitals checked for eligibility.
Babcock said ,“We’ll poke your finger, make sure your hemoglobin is high enough to donate and then we’ll hook you up. The actual donation only takes 5 to 10 minutes. Then we have juice and cookies. You just hang around for a few minutes to make sure everything is ok then you’re free to go!”
Each pint of blood donated can help save several lives of people right here in the UP and each donor could donate every 8 weeks. Consider donating and save lives this month.
