National Blood Donor Month: Find a Drive on Cleveland's East Side

East siders, January is National Blood Donor month. Every year, the Red Cross puts out a special call in the first month of the year for donors to step up because many drives are cancelled or suffer from low attendance due to bad weather.

National Blood Donor month started being observed in 1970. The goal is to increase blood donations during what would otherwise be a down month. Besides bad weather, flu and other sicknesses tend to be more prevalent during the early winter months, making it hard for people to donate.

Blood can be donated safely every 56 days. Students who are 18 or younger have to meet certain height and weight requirements to donate. You also cannot donate if you're sick. Check with a doctor if you're worried you may be contagious, but want to donate blood.

Donating blood is a crucial way to help your fellow human beings. The World Health Organization provided a few examples of what donated blood is used for:

• Pregnancy complications before, during or after childbirth;
• Children with severe anaemia often resulting from malaria or malnutrition;
• People with severe trauma following man-made and natural disasters; and
• Complex medical and surgical procedures

The Red Cross has a list of upcoming blood drives in and around the East Side:

• Jan. 13 at 1100 Superior Building in Cleveland from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Jan. 13 at the Cleveland Clinic Crile Building from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Jan. 15 at St. Leo's Church from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• Jan. 17 at JACK Thistledown Racino from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
• Jan. 17 at 200 Public Square, 3rd Floor, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Jan. 17 at Jergens Inc. from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Jan. 18 at the North Point Building from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Jan. 18 at the PNC Center from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Jan. 20 at Hillcrest Hospital from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Jan. 20 at the Mayfield Branch Library from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• Jan. 23 at Severance Hall from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
• Jan. 23 at the Chamberlain College of Nursing from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
• Jan. 23 at the University Suburban Health Center from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Jan. 25 at John Carroll University from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.
• Jan. 25 at the Tri-C Metro Campus from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Jan. 25 at the Cuyahoga County Courthouse from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Jan. 25 at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Jan. 25 at Euclid Hospital from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Jan. 26 at John Carroll University from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.
• Jan. 26 at MetroHealth Medical Center from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Jan. 26 at Ursuline College from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Jan. 27 at University Hospitals' Ahuja Medical Center from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Jan. 27 at South Euclid-Lyndhurst Public Library from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Jan. 27 at Chagrin Falls Intermediate Schools from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Jan. 28 at Mayfield Village Civic Center from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Jan. 29 at St. Francis of Assisi Church from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Jan. 30 at Wade Commons from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
• Jan. 30 at Cleveland Clinic Family Health Center (Chagrin Falls) from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Jan. 30 at Wickliffe Community Center from 12 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Jan. 31 at Cleveland Clinic Solon from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

If you can't make any of those dates, you can always stop by the Parma Blood Donation Center, 5585 Pearl Road or the Warzel Blood Donation Center, 3636 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland. You can also find other blood drives, here.

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