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Blood drive seeks to reverse alarming trend at UMMC

Published on Thursday, December 11, 2014

Published in News Stories on December 11, 2014

Blood donations at the Medical Center have waned throughout the last four years, and administrators are hoping UMMC faculty, staff and students will help reverse the tide this holiday season.

After collecting 1,460 units during the “Drive for 1955” campaign in 2010-11, Mississippi Blood Services personnel obtained 866 units in 2011-12 and 577 units in 2012-13. Since March 2014, only 487 units have been donated at UMMC.

“We would like to encourage every eligible donor to find the time to donate during this holiday season,” said Renee Howard, administrative assistant in clinical lab administration who organizes the Medical Center’s blood drives.

The timing has never been better – and the opportunity never more convenient – than next week, when Mississippi Blood Services personnel visit the Medical Center Dec. 15-19 for the quarterly UMMC Blood Drive.

The message for the drive is "When you give blood, you give someone another holiday, a day to play in the snow, a night under the stars, a walk with a friend, a laugh, another hug, another chance."

All donors will receive an MBS T-shirt with that message. Identification is required to donate blood.

Times, dates and places for the drive include:

* 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday, Dec. 15, between the Guyton Research Center and the School of Medicine;

* 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 16, between the Guyton Research Center and the School of Medicine;

* 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 17, between the Guyton Research Center and the School of Medicine;

* 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 17, near the Bailey Avenue entrance to the Jackson Medical Mall Thad Cochran Center;

* 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 17, at Grants Ferry (call Rod Simmons at 5-0600 for more information);

* 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 18, near the Batson Children's Hospital entrance; and

* 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19, near the University Hospital entrance.

Be sure to look for the MBS donor coach when making a donation. For more information about the blood drive, call Renee Howard at 4-2884 or send her an email at rhoward@umc.edu.