A blood drive has been scheduled for noon to 6 p.m. Thursday at Center Lake Pavilion.
Blood donation is one way to help those in the community who are in need of blood products due to surgeries, cancer treatments and other health issues. Just one unit of blood can potentially save three lives.
It is now possible to register to donate through an app on your phone, which will eliminate much of the registration paperwork when you come in to donate. Just go to your app store and find Blood Donor app and install it to your cell phone. That will allow you to register the day of donation by scanning the code on your phone.
You can also go online and type Red Cross Rapid Pass into Search and get to the Red Cross blood donation site to begin registration. The actual donation process takes about eight to 10 minutes, and there are treats and water waiting for you after the process.
For the safety of donors and Red Cross personnel, you will need to wear a mask while in the donation site, regardless of your vaccination status. It is safe to donate after receiving COVID-19 vaccines.
To make certain that pre-registered donors get in and out on time, only donors with appointments are being accepted. You can pre-register quickly within hours of the blood drive, although your choices of donation times may be limited.
