American Red Cross

PEORIA, Il. (December 18, 2007) - Santa Clause will be donating platelets on Wednesday, December 19th at 9:30a.m. at the American Red Cross Blood Services center located at 405 W. John H. Gwynn Jr. Avenue in Peoria.  Santa has been busy all year at the North Pole but knows that many children, and adults too, are in the hospital and in need of a platelet transfusion.  To make sure that enough platelets are available during the holidays Santa is making time to donate platelets. Patients who receive platelet transfusions often have leukemia or another form of cancer, had surgery or been trauma victims. Platelets are a lifesaving type of donation that can make a world of difference to a patient in the hospital.

Santa hopes that others will join him in donating platelets and helping to provide this gift of life. Platelets are the fragile component of blood responsible for clotting, and after collection they must be transfused within five days. This means that enough people must donate platelets every day to ensure that an adequate supply is on hand for patients who need them  Platelet donation takes a little longer than whole blood donation, but can be donated more often because only platelets are removed during the collection process used.

Santa has been donating platelets for many years now because he knows how important this type of transfusion is to many patients in area hospitals. Please plan to donate platelets this December and January. For more information about platelet donation or to schedule an appointment to donate, please call 309-636-4281 today. Let Santa know that you are already adding platelet donations to your list of good deeds for next year, and help patients in need.

CALL TODAY TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT TO DONATE PLATELETS

Heart of America Region: The Peoria, Ill.-based Heart of America Region supplies blood products and specialized laboratory services to more than 40 hospitals in Illinois and Missouri. In a lifesaving partnership with more than 400 employees, 80,000 volunteer blood donors and 2,500 volunteer blood drive coordinators, the Heart of American Region organizes at least 3,000 blood drives in an effort to collect approximately 140,000 pints of blood each year for patients in need. The Heart of America Region is one of four regions that make up the Mid-America Division of the American Red Cross Blood Services.