The holiday season is a time for giving. And not every gift has to be one with wrapping paper or a shiny bow.
You can even give without having to do anything other than donate a few minutes of your time, and, well, a pint of blood.
The American Red Cross is fighting a blood shortage and is in critical need of donations, according to its website. With the demand there are several blood drives throughout the area daily, including one at Sam’s Club in Deptford (2000 Clements Bridge Road) this coming Sunday, Dec. 9, from 9 to 2 p.m.
The Red Cross’ need is unfortunately coinciding with a time of the year when donations are typically down.
“We always have a hard time collecting blood between Thanksgiving and New Years, so we anticipate that to be an issue again,” said Alana Mauger, communications manager for Red Cross Blood Services for New Jersey and parts of Pennsylvania. “We’re below where we need to be. We’re at a level where we have to alert the public that there is an urgent need. Donations throughout the fall were not where they needed to be, and we fell short across the country.”
In addition to the blood drive at Sam’s Club, there are several others in the coming week: today (Dec. 3) at the Gloucester Township Library (15 S. Black Horse Pike) from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.; at the Delaware Valley Floral Group (520 N. Mantua Boulevard, Sewell) from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and at Rowan University’s Rec Center (201 Mullica Hill Road, Glassboro) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 5; at the Camden County Blood Donation Center (5425 Marlton Pike, Pennsauken) from 11:45 a.m. to 7:35 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and 7:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. from Thursday through Sunday; at Pitman Road Church of Christ (500 Pitman Road, Sewell) from 2:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and at the Church of Incarnation (240 Main St., Mantua) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 14; at Courtyard Marriott Glassboro Rowan University (325 Rowan Boulevard, Glassboro) from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 15.
The American Red Cross is also currently running a promotion where it will return your gift of blood with a gift for the donor: Through Dec. 19, donors can get a $5 gift card from Amazon when they schedule a donation. (Restrictions apply, for more info log onto amazon.com/gc-legal).
All blood donations go toward daily trauma cases (like car accidents) but also toward regular cancer treatments and sickle cell patients, too. The Red Cross needs to collect around 700 units of blood each day, according to Mauger.
As much as 100 units of blood can be required for a single trauma case such as a car accident. According to Mauger, a single donation can save up to three lives.
“Our issue becomes during Thanksgiving and Christmas people are busy,” Mauger said. “They aren’t really thinking about giving blood and therefore we don’t get enough donations to meet our regular patient needs. It’s not that the need goes up, it’s just that the donations go down.”
Giving blood is also not as time consuming as some might think – it’s often quicker than waiting in line to see Santa Claus or managing your way to making a quick trip to the mall on a December afternoon. Donating blood takes about an hour if you make an appointment in advance.
And the most crucial part is over in a fraction of that time.
“You’re actually only on the donation table for eight to 10 minutes,” Mauger said. “It’s not as daunting as people think and then we give you some goodies, snacks and orange juice.”
For more information and giving blood and to see where other drives are being held, visit redcrossblood.org and enter your ZIP Code on the site.
Stephen Finn contributed to this story.
