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Red Cross blood drive, emergency relief services to attend Health Fair

Jonesboro, August 16, 2006 | Chandra Harris (770-210-5073)
Red Cross blood drive, emergency relief services to attend Health Fair
By Jeffery Whitfield
Clayton News Daily
Published on: 08/16/06

A pint of blood collected by the American Red Cross is enough to save three lives. And enough blood was donated by residents at the 13th Congressional District’s Health Fair last year to save 90 people, said Terrill Cooper, the American Red Cross recruitment representative for Clayton, Henry and Butts counties.

“It went well last year,” she said. “We collected 120 percent of our goal.”

American Red Cross officials sought to collect 25 pints, but received 30 pints of donations instead, Cooper said.

As a result of receiving the higher number than what was expected, Red Cross officials are boosting their goals in hopes that residents will give 35 pints this year, she said.

The blood drive is only one component the American Red Cross will have at the Health Fair, which will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Mundy’s Mill High School in Jonesboro. Four volunteers for the American Red Cross Emergency Relief Services also will be handing out information about health and safety as well as disaster information.

Tips on preparing a family escape plan in case of widespread disasters and what to put in a kit in case of a serious event will be among the information residents will receive, said Ruben Brown, a spokesman for the American Red Cross.

“We’re in the midst of Hurricane season and the impact (of hurricanes) can spread inland,” he said. Last year storms spun off from hurricanes Cindy and Dennis and damaged the Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton and subdivisions in McDonough.

Accompanying the information about coping with disasters at the health fair will be hands-on applications for participants.

Choking prevention exercises such as abdominal thrusts will be offered to show residents how to cope with choking.

“It’s something we deal with it on a regular basis,” Brown said.

CPR courses won’ be offered because residents likely won’t have the three-and-a-half to four hours of time necessary to learn about the processes, he said. But CPR courses locally are offered at the American Red Cross’s Morrow office. For more information, call (404) 575-3730 or visit the American Red Cross Web site at www.AmericanRedCross.org. CPR demonstrations will be held by Clayton County Police.

For the blood drive, American Red Cross staff will bring supplies to collect blood — such as chairs, needles and bags — and canteen items including juice and cookies.

“The donation process takes five to 12 minutes,” Cooper said. Residents choosing to donate blood go through a pre-screening process, are asked about their health history and answer a questionnaire.

Once donations are taken, blood goes to American Red Cross labs for testing, which can take up to three days, Cooper said.

Blood can then be distributed to local hospitals and can be stored for 42 days, she said.

Locally, Southern Regional Medical Center receives all of its blood supply from the American Red Cross, said Nick Maida, the center’s transfusion service technical supervisor.

Blood can be separated into different products, each with its own purpose in aiding patients, Maida said. Blood is used for surgeries or other types of traumas at the center.

Summer and holiday seasons are times when blood is most often used and shortages can occur because residents are more prone to injury, he said.

“A lot of people are on vacation. There is more activity going on (at those times),” Maida said.

For more information about the health fair, call (770) 210-5073.