Hendrick Blood Center Is in Dire Need of Donors
I've been donating blood now for nearly 20 years and have received my one-gallon pin. Recently I've been working on earning my second gallon pin. Yesterday I received an email asking me if I would donate again because our local Hendrick Regional Blood Center is in dire need of blood donors.
In the past, I've received phone calls, texts, and emails asking if I would donate blood because of my blood type. All my life I've made a funny saying out of my blood type: "I am a B+ kind of guy and I will always B+ about donating blood and I don't ever want to B-."
The Hendrick Regional Blood Center is in need of all types of blood, from A to O and everything in between. There are four major blood groups determined by the presence or absence of two antigens, A and B, on the surface of red blood cells. These blood groups are A, B, AB, and O.
In the A and B antigens, there is a protein called the Rh factor, which can be either present making it a + (positive) factor, or absent making it a - (negative) factor, thus creating the eight most common blood types (A+, A-, B+, B-, O+, O-, AB+, AB-). This leaves me with this crazy thought - that the only thing better is being AB+ kind of guy. Get it?
Okay, enough with the bad dad humor. As of today, Hendrick is experiencing a shortage of O-negative and O-positive type blood. Please donate and help restock their blood shortage and save lives. You can donate at 1701 Pine Street by the Hospital or find a blood drive.
The Hendrick Regional Mobile Blood Center is coming to a location near you to receive your blood donations. The following is where you'll find the Hendrick Blood Donation Bus.
- Jan. 9th - In Stamford at the Square, 1 - 6 p.m.
- Jan. 11th - In Brownwood at Austin Ave. Church of Christ, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
- Jan. 12th - In Abilene at West Texas Rehab, 8 a.m. - Noon.
The Hendrick Blood Center is open Monday - Thursday from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Friday from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m., and Saturday from 8 a.m. - Noon.
Source: HRBC Email & Hendrick Regional Blood Center Facebook
I hope to see you at one of the donation sites. I'll be proudly sporting my one-gallon pin.