Blood Drive Set for Oct. 21 at Henry Ford Community College

This press release was submitted by Henry Ford Community College.

The Henry Ford Community College Community Service Club will sponsor a blood drive for the American Red Cross on Oct. 21-22.

The blood drive will take place from 10 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. Oct. 21, and from 10 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Oct. 22 in Room C-119 of the Student & Culinary Arts Center.

Donating blood is a simple four-step process: registration, medical history/mini-physical, donation and refreshments. Every donor is given a mini-physical, where temperature, blood pressure, pulse and hemoglobin levels are checked to ensure that it is safe for him or her to donate.

Donating blood is safe. A sterile needle is used only once for each donor and then thrown away. The actual blood donation takes approximately 10 to 12 minutes. Afterward, refreshments are available to donors to replenish their blood supply.

The average adult donor has approximately 10 pints of blood in his or her body. Roughly one pint is given during a donation. The donor’s blood is then tested for HIV and other infectious diseases before it can be released to a hospital. According to the Red Cross, the entire visit takes a little more than an hour.

All donors during the month of October are eligible to win a $200 Visa gift card, courtesy of Suburban Propane.

Those interested in donating blood must register online at www.redcrossblood.org and type in sponsor code "hfccscac."

For more information, call the HFCC Student Activities Office at 313-845-9865.