Tomah Health and Versiti Blood Center officials are hoping area residents can help with a critical need for blood.
“Blood reserves are dangerously low due to Mother Nature wreaking havoc on blood inventories the past two weeks. Several local drives had to be canceled and many donors were prevented from going to donor centers and drives for their appointments,” said Versiti Blood Center account representative Emalea Cogdill.
To help meet the need, Tomah Health and Versiti Blood Center of Wisconsin are holding a two-day blood drive March 29 & 30 from noon – 5 p.m. at Tomah’s Recreation Park, 1625 Butts Ave.,Tomah.
To donate blood, a person must be in good health, at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds and have photo identification. Sixteen-year-olds may also donate with parental consent. While the process for whole blood donation usually takes about one hour, the blood collection itself is usually about 10 minutes.
To Register for the March 29 drive, CLICK HERE
To Register for the March 30 drive, CLICK HERE
Versiti Blood Center is the sole blood supplier to over 50 hospital systems in Wisconsin including Tomah Health, the Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center and numerous other hospitals in the Coulee Region. “Versiti needs over 640 units of blood a day to treat patients across the state,” Cogdill explained.
Cogdill said they always need new donors to keep the blood supply stable and ready for their health care partners. “Blood drives over the coming weeks are critical to stabilizing the blood supply so patients receive the treatments needed.”