In a tweet released today from the Evansville Red Cross@EvvRedCross if you donate blood on July 15 or 22 you'll receive a FREE @HolidayWorld ticket. Appointments required! Call 1-800-REDCROSS or http://ow.ly/m6Oq6

We encourage you to give blood throughout the year because there is a huge need for it and you never know when you or someone in your family will need blood. According to the Red Cross:

  • Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood.
  • More than 44,000 blood donations are needed every day.
  • A total of 30 million blood components are transfused each year in the U.S. (2006).
  • The average red blood cell transfusion is approximately 3 pints.
  • The blood type most often requested by hospitals is Type O.
  • The blood used in an emergency is already on the shelves before the event occurs.
  • Sickle cell disease affects more than 80,000 people in the U.S., 98 percent of whom are African American. Sickle cell patients can require frequent blood transfusions throughout their lives.
  • More than 1 million new people are diagnosed with cancer each year. Many of them will need blood, sometimes daily, during their chemotherapy treatment.
  • A single car accident victim can require as many as 100 pints of blood.

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