HARLINGEN — Imagine helping to save the life of a total stranger without even being present when it happens. Imagine being called a hero. You can make that happen – by giving the gift of life and donating blood.
Harlingen Medical Center is giving Rio Grande Valley residents that opportunity when it hosts a Community Blood Drive in partnership with the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center, next Wednesday, November 16, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the main lobby of the hospital, 5501 S. Expressway 77 in Harlingen.
The blood drive is open to the public, and all donors will receive a colorful T-shirt.
According to statistics, someone in the United States is in need of blood because of an emergency situation every two seconds. Donating blood is a simple process that saves more than four million lives each year in the U.S.
Harlingen Medical Center is committed to supporting the well-being of the people it serves and therefore proudly collaborates with the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center on a regular basis to host blood drives.
“Harlingen Medical Center strives to be the provider of choice for the healthcare services it offers and to promote health and wellness to the people it serves,” said Manny Chacon, Regional Director of Business Development and Marketing at Harlingen Medical Center. “Hosting this community blood drive is one way we fulfill our commitment to meeting the needs of our community.”
Across the Valley there is a continued need for blood donations, to serve the needs of patients at various hospitals. Factors that tend to affect blood shortages include the fact that a blood donation must be used within 42 days after it is donated; patients who are going through life-saving treatments such as chemotherapy need blood; and patients who have been transported to an Emergency Room with trauma injuries will require life-saving blood.
Potential blood donors must be at least 17 years of age, weigh at least 110 pounds, be in good health, and provide proper identification at the time of registration. (Donors may be 16 years old if they weigh at least 120 pounds with a parental consent form).
Blood donors can donate blood every three months, according to the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center.
For more information on the blood drive, please call Manny Chacon, Regional Business Development & Marketing Director for Harlingen Medical Center, at (956) 365-1848, or e-mail [email protected].
