The San Juan Island Blood Drive is Wednesday, March 16, 11:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. at the Mullis Community Senior Center.

To make an appointment to donate whole blood, please contact Curt at 317-8399 or cvanhyning@gmail.com. To make an appointment to donate platelets, visit www.psbc.org/programs/ or call 1-800-398-7888.

“A blood drive reminds us that we have so much to be thankful for—especially our health. Every blood donor is a potential lifesaver. Every unit of whole blood collected is typically separated into blood’s components—platelets, plasma, cryoprecipitate, and red cells— and can benefit up to three patients,” say organizers. Bloodworks supports 90 hospitals in the Northwest. Island Hospital alone transfuses over 1,900 blood components annually. Blood is needed every day to meet the needs of patients having surgery, organ transplants, receiving cancer treatment, or therapies for blood disorders. In order to meet these needs, Bloodworks Northwest needs at least 800 blood donors each day.

FAQ’s: You can donate if you’ve had a flu shot or a tattoo in the past 12 months as long as it was performed in a licensed facility in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, or California. You can donate if you are a diabetic – as long as you are healthy you are able to give and if you are taking blood pressure medicine, as long as your blood pressure is within range. You can donate 6 weeks after pregnancy. There is no upper age limit – as long as you are healthy and have a beating heart you’re eligible. For info, call Bloodworks Northwest at 800-398-7888 ext. 2.