On Tuesday, April 4, a local, general collection, blood drive occurred from around noon to 5:30 p.m. in the gym at First Baptist Church on the west side of Chestnut Street between 5th and 6th Avenues. A team of six collection staff and account manager Debbie Jacobs of the American Red Cross staffed the drive. An unknown number of local volunteers also assisted donors and staff throughout the drive.
Typically, volunteers at American Red Cross blood drives distribute snacks to donors, observe donors for signs of distress while receiving snacks post donation, and accompany donors from the donation area to the snack area. Volunteers may also help staff with other tasks. Unfortunately, the local blood drive coordinator was unavailable for additional information regarding local volunteers and volunteer opportunities as of the time of print.
Throughout the roughly five-hour blood drive, twentyfive people visited the event in hopes of donating blood. Of those twenty-five people, twenty were able to donate. Moreover, donors gave twentythree units of blood that afternoon.
Of the Bristow community, Ms. Jacobs said, “They are long-time supporters of the Red Cross and have sponsored for many years now.” General blood drives occur locally about every 56 days. Donors and blood recipients alike hope that the community continues to support blood drives for many years to come.
The next American Red Cross Bristow blood drive will be held on Tuesday, May 30, from noon to 5:30 p.m. at the First Baptist Church. Anyone hoping to donate need only visit the drive during those hours. Anyone interested in volunteering can sign up at www.redcross.org/volunteer by completing the online application or by contacting the chapter recruiter, Hunter Harris, by emailing edward.harris@redcross. org or by calling 918345-0668.