Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club Urges Residents to Attend Emergency Blood Drive Aug. 20

Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club is hosting an emergency blood drive Saturday, Aug. 20 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

To encourage donors to roll up their sleeves, the Yacht Club will host Dr. Stu Miller and his staff to offer free screenings to residents who donate blood. This is a $150 value that includes one screening of the donor's choice. They can chose between carotid arterial disease screening, Thyroid disease screening, peripheral arterial disease screening, or peripheral venous disease screening.

To donate blood, you must weigh 110 pounds, bring your ID, and eat before making a donation.

On July 5, the Red Cross issued an emergency appeal urging people all over the country to donate blood as soon as possible.

“Summer is one of the most challenging seasons to collect enough blood, but patients need blood no matter what time of year it is,” Chris Hrouda, the executive vice president of Red Cross Biomedical Services said to redcross.org.

According to the Red Cross, blood donations decreased in the few months prior to July. This resulted in about 39,000 fewer donations than what the Red Cross needs.

Blood and platelets are needed for patient emergencies every two seconds in the U.S., the Red Cross reports. Blood and platelets are used for heart surgery and organ transplant procedures, treatment for cancer or sickle cell disease, treatment for leukemia, and burn victims. The Red Cross says they need about 14,000 blood and platelet donations every day to help patients at about 2,600 hospitals and transfusion centers all over the U.S.

The Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club is located at 79 N Bertrand Rd, Mt Arlington, NJ.

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