Blood Donors Sought To Meet Increasing Lake County Needs
As communities across the country adjust their routines to limit the spread of novel COVID-19 coronavirus, blood donors are asked to keep their blood donation appointments to ensure an adequate blood supply. Franciscan Health will host a series of Versiti Blood Center of Illinois blood drives in the coming weeks. The upcoming blood drives are as follows:
·Noon to 4 p.m., Thursday, March 26 at Franciscan Health Dyer, 24 Joliet St., in the Medical Pavilion N. fourth-floor classroom F.
·Noon to 4 p.m., Tuesday, March 31 at Franciscan Health Hammond, 5454 Hohman Ave., at the fourth-floor outpatient classroom.
·Noon to 4 p.m., Thursday, April 2 at Franciscan Health Munster, 701 Superior Ave., in the St. Clare Conference Room.
“The patients in our communities and our hospital partners rely on the generosity of donors for this precious resource,” said Versiti Chief Medical Officer Tom Abshire, MD. “The donation process itself poses no risk of infecting a donor with coronavirus. Donors and our blood drive sponsors should be reassured that attending organized blood drives is safe. Coronavirus is currently not known to infect patients through blood transfusions.”
Appointments are encouraged and can be scheduled by going online at versiti.org/IL or by calling 1-800-7TO-Give (1-800-786-4483) and choosing your preferred time. Walk-ins are also welcome. Identification is required.
Versiti Blood Center of Illinois serves 63 hospitals in a 12-county area in Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana and collects more than 155,000 units of blood annually.
