A Lincoln County Community Blood Drive will be held Saturday, September 10, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the fellowship hall at Lincolnton Baptist church.

Sponsored by the Shepeard Community Blood Center, the goal for the drive is 45 units.

On Thursday, September 1, the blood center was placed on stand-by in anticipation of an increased need for blood and blood products in response to the tragic events that are unfolding in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The medical community has already been alerted that local hospitals will be receiving patients from the disaster areas.

“We need to be prepared for the influx of hurricane victims who are on their way to our community,” stated Pam Rascon, director of community resources at Shepeard. “We are expecting a drain on our blood supplies in the very near future since so many of the blood centers in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama are not functioning and cannot collect blood.”

Add this to the fact that the Joseph M. Still Burn Center at Doctors Hospital has already been experiencing very heavy blood usage, with more patients on the way due to the closing of the Mississippi Burn Center.

According to Rascon, “Our needs are great, and time is of the essence. We are urging those who are so fortunate to have good health to give the gift of life to those in need by donating blood.”

Residents of the community should keep in mind that each and every donation makes a difference — one donor can save up to three lives. Healthy individuals 17 years of age or older, weighing 110 pounds or more, who have not donated blood in the past two months are eligible to make a donation. Donors are asked to bring a picture I.D. or a donor card with them to the drive.

From beginning to end, the process takes less than half an hour.

Also during the drive, the blood center will be paying tribute to the heroes of 9/11 by presenting each donor with a copy of the commemorative book “America’s Heroes: Inspiring Stories of Courage, Sacrifice, and Patriotism.”

Donors may likewise pick up their “Four Seasons” T-shirt at this time.

In addition, free cholesterol screenings will be available upon request.

The following Lincoln County residents donated blood at the July 9 community blood drive: Carol Spence, Jimmie A. Goldman, Frances S. Aycock, Ellen V. Butler, James E. Butler, Glen E. Hardeman, Paul A. Flannigan, Ralph A. Martin, Andre M. LaPlume.

Sable Davis, Barbara B. Doyle, William K. Barnett, Robert T. Poss, Hal Howard, Jr., Jacob M. Johnson, Paul W. Rentz, Marjorie S. Hogan, Gail C. Cooper, Jennifer S. Rentz, Brenda T. Leopard, Elizabeth M. Tuten, James A. McGee, Tallie N. Jones.

Richard E. Fields, Byron S. Baldwin, April R. Harris, Deborah M. Dent, Susan Gunter, Bethanie M. Bridges, Terri Ann Meredith, Charlotte A. Meredith, Holly J. Lawson, Gerald S. Lawson, Franklin E. Doyle, and Janet B. Pruitt. Important facts about blood donation include:

The average adult has 10 pints of blood in his body.

There are about one billion red blood cells in two to three drops of blood.

Red blood cells must be used within 42 days.

Plasma can be frozen and used for up to a year.

People who have been in car accidents and suffered massive blood loss can need transfusions of 50 units or more of red blood cells.

There is no substitute for human blood.

Much of today’s medical care depends on a steady supply of blood from healthy donors.

Someone needs blood every three seconds. It takes about three gallons of blood to support the entire nation’s blood need for one minute.

Approximately 32,000 units of blood are used each day in the United States.

If an individual began donating blood at age 17 and donated every 56 days until he reached 76, he would have donated 48 gallons of blood.

A person cannot get AIDS or any other blood disease by donating blood.

Sickle cell anemia is an inherited disease that affects more than 80,000 people in the United States, 98 percent of whom are of African descent. Some patients experiencing complications from the disease receive blood transfusions every month.

Severe burn patients can require 20 units of platelets during treatments.

One out of every 10 people entering the hospital needs blood.

Although 60 percent of the people in the United States are eligible to donate blood, only five percent do so on a yearly basis.

Since a pint of blood is a pound, a person loses a pound every time he donates blood.

For more information about blood donation, contact the Shepeard Community Blood Center at 1-706-7374551 or visit the organization’s website at www.shepeardblood.org.

Shepeard is the primary provider of blood and blood projects for 14 area hospitals.