EATON – The Eaton First Church of God will host a community blood drive Saturday, Aug. 20, from 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. in the social hall, 601 East Lexington Road, in memory of leukemia patient Vincent Jones.
The former West Alexandria and Gratis EMS volunteer lost his battle with blood cancer on June 11, but his family credits blood donations for helping him live long enough to see his newborn son. Donors are encouraged to schedule an appointment online at www.DonorTime.com or call 1-800-388-GIVE.
“Please consider donating and help saving lives,” said Vincent’s widow Mindy Sue Jones in a video posted to the Eaton First Church of God Facebook page. “Vincent had long battle with acute lymphatic leukemia and it was because of many blood donors that Vincent was able to live long enough to meet our second son, Jeremiah Vincent Jones. What a blessing that was to both of them. Without the donations of those people and their kind outpouring of the gift of life by giving blood Vincent wouldn’t have been given this gift and Jeremiah would never have met his father.”
Everyone who registers to donate will receive the new “Blood Donors Don’t Moose Around” t-shirt. The shirt is green and the design features an Alaska moose under a full moon in the snow-covered wilderness. Everyone age 18 and older will also be entered in the Community Blood Center “Wild About Alaska Adventure for Two Summer Blood Drive” drawing to win a custom-designed Alaska vacation for two.
The grand prize includes air travel to Alaska, deluxe accommodations during your week-long stay, and options for a cruise or land travel. The vacation is for the winning donor and a travel companion.
Donors can double their chances of winning entering the drawing a second time when they register for a second donation through the Sept. 3 blood drive period. Official rules are available at www.givingblood.org.
Zika travel restrictions now include Florida’s Miami-Dade Co.
Community Blood Center is taking additional precautions against the Zika virus by asking anyone who has traveled to Florida’s Miami-Dade County in the last four weeks to refrain from donating blood.
Several residents of a Miami neighborhood have contracted the Zika virus and health experts believe it was transmitted locally by mosquito bites.
CBC is currently deferring potential donors for 28 days who have traveled to Zika endemic areas in the Caribbean, Mexico and Central or South America.
CBC has expanded the 28-day deferral to include potential donors who have traveled to Florida’s Miami-Dade County.
Adding new travel restrictions has the potential to impact the available blood supply by further limiting the number of people able to donate. Zika travel deferments already in place, and stricter FDA requirements for hemoglobin level and pulse screening that went into effect May 23, already represent a two percent potential impact on the donor deferral rate.
Learn more at www.GivingBlood.org.
