"It is important to come together as a community to help one another," Tammy Crites, donor recruitment supervisor with United Blood Services in Fort Smith, Ark., said.
All donors will receive a special St. Patrick's Day T-shirt.
Crites said it takes nearly 200 blood donations every day to meet the needs of area patients and to be ready for emergencies.
"We all expect blood to be there for us if we ever need it," Crites said. "But only about 5 percent of area residents donate blood."
Each blood donation can help several patients. Every unit of donated blood is sent to United Blood Services' laboratory for testing and processing. Trained laboratory technicians separate the whole blood into components, including red blood cells, plasma, platelets and cryoprecipitate.
Red blood cells are used for surgery patients. Plasma provides clotting factors that help control bleeding for surgery and trauma patients. Platelets are required for cancer and leukemia patients undergoing chemotherapy. Cryoprecipitate is a concentrate of clotting factor that is used to control massive bleeding during surgery or trauma care.
Donors must be at least 17, weigh at least 110 pounds and be in good health.
People who wish to donate may schedule an appointment by calling Crites at (479) 652-2364, sign up at the customer service desk at Harp's Foods, or log on to www.UnitedBloodServices.org.
