The arrival of spring also marks the return of the annual Trinity Valley Community College Health Fair and Blood Drive.
Carter BloodCare’s blood drive will begin Tuesday, April 8, and continue Wednesday, April 9, in conjunction with the health fair, which is hosted by nursing students from the TVCC Health Science Center in Kaufman. TVCC has set an aggressive goal of collecting 15 gallons of blood during the two-day drive – the equivalent of 120 donors. According to Carter BloodCare, each pint of blood donated can save as many as three lives.
Carter BloodCare figures reveal 4.5 million American lives are saved each year by blood transfusions and 32,000 pints of blood are donated each day in the U.S. Even so, blood centers often experience shortages – especially during the summer and winter months. The need for blood is constant, as someone needs blood every three seconds, including one in seven hospital patients. Much of today’s medical care depends on a steady supply of blood from healthy donors, according to Carter BloodCare.
Healthy adults who are at least 17 years old (16 with parental consent) and weigh at least 110 pounds may donate blood every 56 days.
The health fair will be held Wednesday, April 9, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. in front of the Student Union Building on the Athens campus (located at 100 Cardinal Drive). Information will be offered including:
- Child abuse and child protective services
- Stress and stress-boosting techniques
- Skin cancer and sun exposure
- First aid
- Weight reduction
- Organ donation
In the event of inclement weather, the fair will be held on the second floor of the Student Union Building.