Red Cross Blood Drive Set for Dec. 22

Give the gift of life this holiday season. MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital is partnering with the American Red Cross with a special holiday blood drive, hoping many people will be inspired by the holiday spirit to give blood.

The extra blood drive will be open to the community from noon to 5:30 pm Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015, in the Red Cross Bloodmobile, outside the Outpatient Pavilion of MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital in Leonardtown. Anyone who wants to donate can register inside the pavilion lobby. If scheduling an appointment is more convenient than walking in, call 301-475-6019 or schedule it online at redcrossblood.org.

Whether donors have an appointment or not, they can have a faster donation experience by completing a RapidPass on the Red Cross website. RapidPass is not the same as an appointment and must be completed the same day of the appointment. For more information, call the Health Connections office at 301-475-6019.

The need for blood donations never stops. According to the American Red Cross website:

• Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood.
• More than 41,000 blood donations are needed every day.
• A total of 30 million blood components are transfused each year in the U.S.
• The average red blood cell transfusion is approximately 3 pints.
• The blood type most often requested by hospitals is Type O.
• The blood used in an emergency is already on the shelves before the event occurs.
• Sickle cell disease affects more than 70,000 people in the U.S. About 1,000 babies are born with the disease each year. Sickle cell patients can require frequent blood transfusions throughout their lives.
• More than 1.6 million people were diagnosed with cancer last year. Many of them will need blood, sometimes daily, during their chemotherapy treatment.
• A single car accident victim can require as many as 100 pints of blood.

MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital (MSMH) is a full-service community hospital, delivering state-of-the-art emergency, acute inpatient and outpatient care in Leonardtown, Maryland. Nestled in a waterside community, MedStar St. Mary’s provides advanced technology with a dedication to excellence in all services provided. The not-for-profit hospital has been named among the nation’s Top 100 Hospitals™ and is an eight time recipient of the prestigious Delmarva Medicare Excellence Award. In addition, MSMH received the Maryland Performance Excellence award at the Platinum level in 2014 – the highest in the state. Our staff is committed to providing quality and compassionate medical care for all patients by coupling innovation with our outstanding team of Medical Staff members, associates and volunteers. Visit MedStarStMarys.org to learn more.

For more information and one-click access to a full list of resources available at MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital, visit their Leader Page.