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Giving the gift of life

American Red Cross Blood Drive held at Undo’s

T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA Ohio Valley resident Rodney Cortopassi braces for impact as American Red Cross Collections Staff member Mallorie Strahl takes his donation at the American Red Cross Blood Drive at Undo’s West on Thursday.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Residents from across the Ohio Valley showed up to donate blood for a good cause on Thursday.

The American Red Cross hosted a blood drive at Undo’s West on Thursday afternoon. The drive was sponsored by East Richland Evangelical Friends Church. Originally the drive was supposed to be held at Friends Church, but it was moved to Undo’s West where chips and beverages were served to the people donating blood.

There were multiple types of donations accepted on Thursday, based on the donor’s blood type. Most donations received were whole blood donations. According to the American Red Cross’s website whole blood is the most flexible type of donation. It can be transfused in its original form or used to help multiple people when separated into its specific components of red cells, plasma and platelets. Whole blood donations are accepted by all blood types and can be donated once every 56 days up to six times a year.

The group taking donations consisted of individuals who travel across Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky and Virginia.

“We are Central Appalachian, and that consists of Wheeling’s center, Morgantown’s center and Winchester’s center,” Leeann Nuzum, team lead of the Morgantown collections staff, said.

The American Red Cross’s Central Appalachian Region consists of 77 counties across five states.

According to the American Red Cross, it collects nearly 4.5 million blood donations each year.

“The Red Cross mission is to prevent and relieve human suffering. And as the world’s largest humanitarian organization, we are able to use your donation to reach more people in need, more quickly. Sometimes that means helping a family after a home fire, or an entire community after a large disaster, or supporting those who defend our freedoms and their loved ones at home,” the American Red Cross website states.

In most states, you must be 17 or older and meet the requirements given by the American Red Cross to make a blood donation. If interested in donating blood, you can visit RedCross.org to find the closest blood drive hosted by the American Red Cross.

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