Blood drive set for Sat at FBC

LCHS students and faculty donate 59 units of blood Students and faculty at LCHS broke a record Monday, September 24, by donating 59 units of blood to the Shepeard Community Blood Center. Linda Walker, a spokesman for the blood center, expressed her appreciation to the school and the students for their generosity and concern for others. Pictured looking no worse for the wear is donor Joshua Hollimon, along with a blood center employee.

A Lincoln County Community Blood Drive will be held Saturday, September 29, 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 30 donors.

Residents of the community should keep in mind that each and every donation makes a difference - once 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.

In addition, all donors will receive a free gift, and free cholesterol screenings will be available upon request for those 19 years of age or older.

Some interesting facts about blood donation are as follows:

.. One out of every 10 hospital patients requires a blood transfusion.

.. Severe burn victims may need as much as 20 units of platelets during their course of treatment.

.. Children being treated for cancer, premature infants, and children having heart surgery need blood and platelets from donors of all types.

.. Fourteen tests (11 for infectious diseases) are performed on each unit of donated blood.

.. Red blood cells can be stored for up to 42 days; platelets for only five; and frozen plasma for as long as one year.

.. Some studies show that regular blood donation may lower the risk of heart attack.

.. A person's body replaces its entire blood volume every 180 days.

.. Eighty-five percent of those who live to age 72 will need blood or blood products at some point in their lives; however, less than five percent of the populations donates blood on a regular basis.

For more information about blood donation, contact the Shepeard Community Blood Center at 1-706-737- 4551 or visit the organization's website at www.shepheardblood.org.