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On Wednesday, August 19th the Eugene Emeralds and Kendall Toyota are inviting the Eugene/Springfield community to become superheroes through their Be a Hero Drive. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. community members will be able to donate blood, join the bone marrow registry and learn about organ donation. They will be joined by members from American Red Cross, Be the Match and Donate Life NW at Kendall Toyota of Eugene.
The American Red Cross Blood Mobile will be on site to collect blood donation. Donating blood products is essential to community health and the need for blood products is constant. Additionally, the Red Cross is testing all blood, platelet and plasma donations for COVID-19 antibodies. The Red Cross has added safety precautions to the drive to ensure the health and safety of all who attend. This will include a temperature screening, enhanced disinfecting of areas and social distancing wherever possible. They are also asking donors to sign up for a pre-scheduled appointment at redcrossblood.org/give, instead of walking in, as to adhere to the social distancing guidelines. All blood types are needed, and people who have never donated before are encouraged to donate. Donors must be 17 years old or older, weigh a minimum of 110 pounds and be in general good health.
Seventy percent of blood cancer patients requiring a marrow transplant are waiting for a match through the Bone Marrow Registry. It is normally 1 in 300 of those who register will be matched with those in need. Be the Match, operated by the National Marrow Donor Program, manages the largest and most diverse marrow registry in the world. They will be on site collecting volunteers to be listed as a potential blood stem cell donor, ready to save the life of any patient in need of a transplant through a quick cheek swab.
Another way members can Be a Hero is to register to be an organ donor through Donate Life NW. Of the almost 120,000 Americans waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant, more than 3,000 live in the Pacific Northwest.
“This was an event we had planned for one of our games this summer,” said Anne Culhane, Director of Community Relations. “These are three amazing, lifesaving programs that rely on volunteers so we wanted to move forward with this drive.”
Individuals not feeling well or who are exhibiting any symptoms, which include fever, tiredness and dry cough should stay home. Donors will be asked to wear a mask while attending this event.