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Community Blood Drive Scheduled This Month
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On Friday, July 30 the Oakdale Leader and Riverbank News team up to sponsor the Oakdale Community Blood Drive for Life to be held at the Gene Bianchi Community Center between 11:30 a.m. and 7 p.m.All registered donors will be treated to fun, live music, complimentary meal, candy from Sconza, event T-shirt to the first 100 donors and drawings for gifts from local merchants all day long.Delta Blood Bank provides all blood products to local hospitals and also contributes where possible to needs outside the local area, including disaster relief efforts. Here’s why they want you to donate:One blood donation can save up to three lives.Lives like Sofia Rose Conde, born on July 5, 2008 at Doctor’s Hospital of Manteca. A few days after birth, Sofia was transferred to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford. There she was diagnosed with Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency (PKD). Sofia needs blood transfusions every four weeks, and has currently received 35 transfusions. She will need blood transfusions until the age of five and possibly longer.Lives like Melanie Trotter, who, on Nov. 6, 2008 after several surgeries and 2 years of trying to conceive, headed to the hospital for a planned C-section delivery. What started out as a routine C-section delivery, turned into a five-hour emergency surgery. After the delivery of her son, there were severe complications and hemorrhaging which turned into a near fatal day for Melanie. Had it not been for the doctors and nurses on duty and the local Delta Blood Bank, she could have lost her life.She lost 80 percent of her blood but, thanks to the local Delta Blood Bank, she received eight units of blood. Family members, friends and coworkers also set up an account at the blood bank and donated blood in her behalf.Another beneficiary was Gerry Martin, who tore the muscle in his left calf while moving rocks. Not realizing the extent of the injury, Gerry spent the rest of the day icing his calf. At nearly midnight his wife Barbara rushed him to the hospital. Gerry suffered from a low blood platelet condition. Compartment Syndrome was the diagnosis made by the emergency room doctor and emergency surgery was performed. After the surgery, Gerry began bleeding profusely because of the low blood platelet condition. Due to the tremendous amount of blood loss and low blood platelets, Gerry was given many units of frozen plasma, whole blood and at least 10 blood platelet transfusions.It takes less than an hour to donate blood, and only 10 minutes or less to actually draw the blood. Blood can be given every 56 days, making it possible for every person to save up to 18 lives per year.About 36 percent of people are eligible to donate blood, but only about five percent do on a regular basis. One trauma patient easily can require more than 100 pints — also called units — of blood.Nationwide, someone needs blood every two seconds.About one of every seven people who is hospitalized will need blood.Blood always is needed for accident victims, cancer patients, people with hemophilia and surgery patients.Your blood donation could mean the difference between life and death.Donate blood July 30 at the Oakdale Leader, Riverbank News Blood Drive for Life at the Gene Bianchi Community Center at 110 So. Second Ave., Oakdale.For more information contact Maxine Pickford in Donor Operations of Delta Blood Bank at 209-470-4636.