Blood Drive Set For  Jan. 16 At NUMC

The next blood drive in Newtown will be held on Monday, January 16, at Newtown United Methodist Church, 92 Church Hill Road in Sandy Hook, from 8:30 am to 6:15 pm. It is a being sponsored by Newtown Lions Club with Women Involved in Newtown (WIN) and Dunkin’ Donuts providing refreshments.

Volunteer blood donations help patients being treated for accidents, routine surgeries, and serious diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and hemophilia. Giving blood is easy, safe, and takes less than one hour, but only about five percent of the estimated 60 percent of eligible Americans donate blood.

Anyone age 17 or older who weighs 110 pounds or more and is in generally good health is probably eligible to donate blood. Call 800-GIVE LIFE (800-448-3543) to make an appointment for any blood drive in Connecticut. Appointments may also be requested by visiting the website at www.bloodCT.org.

Volunteer donors at American Red Cross blood drives in Connecticut will be required to provide identification before donating at a blood donation center or blood drive. The policy was implemented last year to ensure that all blood donors are properly identified in Red Cross records, are not currently disqualified from donating, and can be reached for follow-up if needed.

The acceptable identification is a government-issued picture identification, such as a driver’s license, or a Red Cross blood donor card.

If a prospective donor does not have either of these, he or she will be required to provide two other forms of identification. The following forms of identification are acceptable: school/work/military ID, professional license or certificate, union card, sheriff’s card/age of majority card, voter registration card, passport/green card/birth certificate, bank charge card with photograph, or a donor card from a non-Red Cross blood center.