American Red Cross Blood Drives To Be Held At Rogue Community College Campuses
MEDFORD, Ore. — The American Red Cross is extending its long-standing partnership with the Rogue Community College (RCC) in a series of blood drives scheduled to be held across RCC campuses.
Red Cross Blood Drives Significance
Ace Ventura, Account Manager for the Red Cross, confirmed that “Every two to three seconds, someone in the United States needs a blood transfusion, but only about 4 to 5 percent of those eligible to donate actually do.”
The American Red Cross highlighted how important these donations are for people struggling with serious health conditions.
A patient in the U.S. receives platelets, the miniscule cells in blood essential for clotting and stopping bleeding, every 15 seconds and almost 50% of all platelets from donated blood go to cancer patients.
Rachel Ostroskie, Assistant Director of High School Partnerships at RCC, confirmed that donors can track the effect of their blood contributions on the Red Cross app, which lets them see exactly where their blood is sent.
Ostroskie said she has tracked her blood and, “So far, the farthest my blood has gone is Maryland.”
Ventura said donating blood changed his life and the first time he donated was on the RCC campus. Knowing his blood saved a child’s life in a cancer hospital was a truly heartwarming experience for Ventura.
Fellow long-term blood donor, Kathleen Patton, said she started donating blood initially because her father needed a transfusion for heart surgery. The experience opened her eyes to how crucial blood donations are.” Patton said, “Now, I feel proud to give back as often as I can.”
Next RCC Blood Drive In Medford
Blood drives have been held every term at all three RCC campuses. Ostroskie indicated that the RCC Redwood campus tends to have the most donors, usually about 15 to 25 donations each time.
Because the partnership with the Red Cross is student-driven, it is wonderful to see the students of RCC give back to the community.
The Red Cross urges the community to participate as the partnership with RCC continues to grow. A second blood drive will be held this week at the Higher Education Center in Medford from 11 AM to 4 PM on Thursday.