At the blood drive
You can give blood without driving very far.
This week, the Roscoe VFW is holding a blood drive on Tuesday, Nov. 9 in honor of our veterans. Appointments are still available. You need to weigh at least 110 lbs and to generally feel well on the day of your donation. Several blood drives are scheduled in the Stateline area in the next month - see the map.
At this drive at the VFW, Double Red Blood Cell Collection (DRBC) is available. You can make a regular, single, whole blood donation too, but more than 63% of all needed transfusion units are red cells. During a double red blood cell donation, a machine is used to withdraw whole blood. Red cells are separated and retained, and the remainder of the blood is returned back to the donor. This donation safely removes twice as many red cells than traditional whole blood. They refer to this as a double red blood cell donation, or DRBC for short. To "give double," you must be in good health and have a minimum hemoglobin level of 13.3. Males must be at least 5'1" and weigh at least 130 lbs. Females must be at least 5'5" and weigh at least 155 lbs. (That's not a typo: women have a lower total blood volume (TBV) — even if they weigh the same amount.)
Last month, the editor of Rockton-Roscoe News participated in the blood drive held regularly at the Bucciferro Family McDonald’s in Rockton and managed to take pictures. Blood donors always get cookies, snacks and drinks, but here I got gift cards for two Value Meals because I registered online. Confession: I don't like needles either, but it was over before I knew it and it could save three lives.
Don't worry, no blood is shown in these photos.