It’s football season, and time to put some pints on the board — pints of blood, that is. UAB Hospital, UAB Highlands and the American Red Cross are launching an eight-day blood drive beginning Sept. 24, 2012. The drive is designed to replace blood stocks depleted during the summer.
UAB Hospital North Pavilion second-floor atrium, corner of 18th Street and Sixth Avenue, and the first-floor lobby of UAB Highlands Hospital, 1201 11th Street South. Make an appointment today at www.redcrossblood.org, sponsor code UABNP.
North Pavilion hours:
- Monday, Sept. 24, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Tuesday, Sept. 25, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Wednesday Sept. 26, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Thursday, Sept. 27, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Friday, Sept. 28, 7 a.m. – 2 p.m.
- Saturday, Sept. 29, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
UAB Highlands hours:
- Wednesday, Oct. 3, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Thursday, Oct. 4, 6:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
The end of summer is a critical time for the region’s blood supply because donations typically drop during the summer months.
UAB ranks in the top five among hospitals supplied by the Red Cross, and it is one of the nation’s largest users of blood products. Donors can give blood up to six times a year, every eight weeks. The overall process takes about 45 minutes and the actual blood collection usually takes less than 20 minutes. Donors need to have a photo ID.
Blood products are used during surgery, transplantation, trauma care, difficult pregnancies and cancer treatment. A single patient may require as many as 100 units.