Blood drive begins Jan. 22 on campus

The Puget Sound Blood Center is holding its quarterly blood drive at Western Washington University from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 22 to 24, in Viking Union Room 565.

For more information, contact Catharine Vader at catharine.vader@wwu.edu.

Did you know?

• Your one blood donation is separated into red blood cells, platelets and plasma and can help up to three patients.
• To meet the needs of patients, each weekday 900 units of blood must be collected from donors to support patients in Western Washington.
• There is an 80-percent chance that you will need a blood transfusion some time in your life, and if you do, the blood will be there for you thanks to blood drives like this one.
• Thirty-eight percent of the U.S. population is eligible to donate, however only 5 percent of eligible donors do so on a yearly basis. And the number of transfusions nationwide increases 9 percent every year.
• Four and a half million Americans would die each year without a blood transfusion.
• About 3 gallons of blood supports the entire nation’s blood needs for about one minute.
• One out of every 10 people entering a hospital needs blood.
• There is no upper age limit to donating blood.
• People with diabetes can donate, if their condition is under control by diet, exercise or insulin.
• After your blood donation your body begins to replace the donated blood cells immediately.
• You can donate red blood cells every 56 days.
• After your blood donation, you can relax and eat as many cookies and drink as much juice as you want!

For questions about donor eligibility, visit http://www.psbc.org/programs/blood.htm.