A Community Blood Drive is scheduled at Washington Elementary School, open to the community, on Oct. 17.
Indiana Blood Center will be set up in the gym, and staff will be accepting donations at the school, 423 Kincaid St., Warsaw, from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Coming out of the summer months, there is an urgent need to replenish and stabilize blood inventories, according to a news release from the IBC.
Patients who need blood products depend on over 650 Indiana volunteers to raise their sleeve every day. This is a tall order in the state since only 2% of Hoosiers donate regularly (two or more times per year). Throughout the rest of the country, 10% donate twice or more per year.
Donating blood takes about an hour. Anyone age 17 or older in good health who meets eligibility requirements is encouraged to give. General eligibility information is available at www.versiti.org/ways-to-give/blood-donation/donation-eligibility-faq (scroll to Eligibility). Parental consent is required for donors age 16 to donate blood. Donors should bring a photo ID that includes their birth date.
Appointments are encouraged but walk-ins are welcome. To schedule an appointment for the Oct. 17 blood drive, call or text 317-258-7603 to get an appointment scheduled.
More than 90,000 Indiana residents each year give blood through the Indiana Blood Center, a nonprofit organization founded in 1952. The center operates many community (mobile) blood drives throughout the state, as well as blood centers in Indianapolis, Fishers, Carmel, Greenwood, Lafayette and Terre Haute. Part of Versiti, Indiana Blood Center provides a continuous and safe supply of blood and biological services to Hoosiers, nearly 80 Indiana hospitals and beyond, according to the news release.
