DAYTON — Community Blood Center is calling on both new and current blood donors to give at holiday time and give more often in the New Year. Get started at the “New Year’s Resolution Party” Friday, Dec. 28, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the downtown Dayton CBC Donor Center, 349 South Main St.
CBC has an immediate need for blood donors to maintain the blood supply during the challenging holiday week and the start of the New Year. CBC is also emphasizing the strategic goals in 2019 of identifying and recruiting new platelet and plasma donors.
The “New Year’s Resolution Party” is an opportunity to donate whole blood, platelets or plasma. CBC will thank donors with special refreshments and a free movie ticket for everyone who registers to donate. Make an appointment online at www.DonorTime.com.
“A night at the movies” is a theme of the resolution party. There will be muffins for morning donors in the Donor Café, submarine sandwiches the rest of the day, and movie popcorn all day long. Everyone who registers to donate will also receive a pair of brightly colored holiday socks.
January 2019 will mark the inaugural celebration of “Blood Donor Awareness Month” in the state of Ohio. Rep. Stephen Huffman, R-Tipp City, sponsored the bill and enlisted the support of CBC to give proponent testimony.
In 2019 CBC is expanding the opportunity to donate platelets and plasma at select community blood drives. Platelets are the cells that control bleeding while plasma is the fluid that maintains blood pressure. Both are vital for the treatment of cancer, trauma, organ transplant, and burn patients.
To encourage donors to join this 2019 initiative, CBC is introducing “The Big Six Platelet Donor Challenge.” CBC will feature a new, limited-edition platelet donor t-shirt every two months. The t-shirt is free when you register to donate. Platelet donors are encouraged to donate often and collect all six.
New platelet donors are in high demand, especially those with blood types A, AB, or B positive. Find out more at www.GivingBlood.org or talk to an apheresis specialist at 937-461-3220.
