Red Cross to hold blood drive this week in West Columbia

West Columbia, SC (Jimmy Poluszek) -The Cayce-West Columbia Branch Library will be hosting a blood drive on March 16th from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The drive is being coordinated by the American Red Cross who did a similar blood drive back in January and plans to do another drive in the fall. They encourage anyone interested to come and donate. Walk-ins will be accepted, but it is recommended that donors go to www.redcrossblood.org first and register for faster service, or in case you have further questions about donating blood in general.

According to www.bnl.gov, approximately 4.5 million Americans are in dire need of blood transfusions each year. In fact, around 32 thousand pints of blood are used each day in hospitals across the United States. Just one pint of blood is enough to save as many as three people’s lives. That is why this Friday, the Red Cross would like to reach a goal of 18 pints of blood donated during the drive. According to Donna Ciriello, the reference librarian at the branch who was present at the last drive, 21 people came out in January to donate and the drive managed to reach its goal. The Library hopes to do the same with this upcoming drive.

The Cayce-West Columbia Branch Library is located at 1500 Augusta Road, West Columbia. This is just a community service for the library, so if you have any questions about the blood donation process, they advise you contact the Red Cross at 1-800-733-2767.