American Red Cross
American Red Cross of Central Alabama
Media Alert
Contact: Evan Duffy
251-662-2581
duffyek@usa.redcross.org
Ben Grier Compassion Blood Drive
Monday, April 16, 2007
1 p.m. – 6 p.m.
St. Mark United Methodist Church ( map )
Fellowship Hall
1785 Taylor Road
Montgomery, AL 36117
(April 9, 2007)- At no time is the constant, critical need for blood more magnified than when a child is in need of donor blood in the Alabama and Central Gulf Coast Region of the American Red Cross. Each day, children and adults all over the region need the gift of life that only a volunteer blood donor can provide, and now donors in the Montgomery area will be able to help meet the needs of Montgomery resident Ben Grier, a 4-year-old who recently underwent a life-saving heart transplant at UAB Children’s Hospital in Birmingham, a hospital currently supplied with blood by the American Red Cross.
The son of Sonny and Lana Grier, Ben underwent transplant surgery on April 6 after a suitable heart was located from Tennessee. Though often transplant patients wait for extended periods to find matching organs for transplantation, there is another component to any successful transplant: the availability of blood for transfusion. In Ben’s case, the blood he needed was on hand to facilitate his operation, thanks to donors who graciously give of their time and blood in order to save lives.
Donors in the Montgomery area will get a chance to make the same kind of impact on the lives of others in need of blood from volunteer donors as part of the Ben Grier Compassion Blood Drive, scheduled for Monday, April 16 from 1 p.m. – 6 p.m. at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, located at 1785 Taylor Road in Montgomery.
“This is one of those cases where the ‘local blood’ argument just doesn’t hold water,” said Evan Duffy, Senior Communications Specialist for the American Red Cross. “In this case, Ben is from Montgomery but had to be treated at UAB Children’s Hospital in Birmingham. That hospital is supplied by the American Red Cross, and the blood used in his transfusion likely came from donors scattered across the Alabama and Central Gulf Coast Region. If everyone had a ‘local blood’ mindset, then the blood wouldn’t be in place where it is needed in situations such as this one. We are glad that thanks to generous volunteer donors, Ben was able to get the blood he needed where he needed it.”
The American Red Cross is charged with providing blood and blood products to over 100 hospitals in the Alabama and Central Gulf Coast Region, and while it may be difficult to find the time to donate amidst the flurry of springtime activity, patients in the region’s hospitals are in desperate need of live-giving blood. Cases such as Ben’s magnify the need for routine blood donation, as blood must be on the shelf when it is needed in order to save lives.
Blood, moreover blood donors, can save up to two lives per donation. The statistics are staggering. Every two seconds, someone in our region needs blood to survive. Some 700 donations are needed per day in our region alone just to meet the current need for blood, creating a constantly critical need for donors who roll up their sleeves to save the lives of their neighbors. The victim of a traffic accident could need between four and 100 units of blood. The average heart bypass patient needs four to six units. The need for blood is constant, because trauma and emergency medical procedures never take a vacation.
To donate, you must be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds and be in good health. Donors must also show identification in the form of a driver’s license or ARC donor card. If you are sick and cannot donate, please encourage a friend or loved one to donate in your place. If everyone who could donate would donate, there would never be a blood shortage in our area.
The American Red Cross will give a little back to the donors who give so much of their own time, blood and resources during this time of the year. All donors who give in the month of April will receive a t-shirt and ball cap. All presenting donors will also be entered into a regional drawing for a “New York Get Away” package, which includes two roundtrip tickets on Delta Air Lines, a two-night weekend stay at a New York Marriott hotel and two tickets to see a performance by Blue Man Group. In addition, all donors will receive a coupon for a free Chick-fil-A Sandwich.
Do your part to make sure that every story ends as happily as Ben’s. The 4-year-old has undergone his critical surgery and is well on the road to recovery, thanks to the UAB medical staff, a heart from a child in Tennessee and blood from volunteer blood donors around the region. The need for blood can arise suddenly and without warning, so help make sure blood is there when it is needed and where it is needed. After all, when you give blood you give the gift of life. There really is no greater gift one can give.
Make an appointment today at www.givelife.org , code # 5347mtg.
Give blood, give life
