Susan Leugers and her family are ready for the Jan. 2 blood drive in honor of Chelsea Lukey.
Courtesy photo
BOTKINS – The New Year begins with a critical need for lifesaving blood donation. Honor January National and Ohio Blood Donor Awareness Month by making it your New Year’s resolution to donate at the ninth annual Chelsea Lukey Memorial Blood Drive Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024, from 12:30-6:30 p.m. at The Palazzo, 309 S. Main St., Botkins.
Schedule an appointment to donate with Solvita (formerly Community Blood Center) on the Donor Time app, by calling 937-461-3220, or at www.donortime.com.
Everyone who registers to donate at any Solvita blood drive or the Solvita Dayton Center Jan. 2-Mar. 2 will receive the “Donor Love” long-sleeve, hoodie shirt, while supplies last. Registered donors will also be entered into two drawings to win British soccer club Chelsea F.C. jerseys in honor of Chelsea.
Botkins donor Susan Leugers first organized the blood drive in 2016 as a tribute to her daughter Chelsea, who lost her battle with pancreatic cancer in 2010 at the age of 22. Leugers was willing to move the blood drive to early January to help replenish the holiday blood supply. It is now traditionally one of the first CBC blood drives of the New Year.
National Blood Donor Awareness Month was proclaimed in 1969 to thank donors and encourage more donations during the winter months when the holidays, severe weather, and seasonal illness make it difficult to maintain a sufficient blood supply.
State Sen. Stephen Huffman (R-5th District), an emergency room physician and a life-long blood donor, introduced legislation in 2017 to designate January as Blood Donor Awareness Month in Ohio. It became law in February 2018 and was first celebrated in January 2019.
You can save time while helping save lives by using “DonorXPress” to complete the donor questionnaire before arriving at a blood drive. Find DonorXPress on the Donor Time App or at www.givingblood.org/donorxpress.
Donors can save time while helping save lives by using “DonorXPress” to complete the donor questionnaire before arriving at a blood drive. Find DonorXPress on the Donor Time App or at www.givingblood.org/donorxpress.
