On May 2, Joe Lawrence gave blood to the American Red Cross at Shandon United Methodist Church. Standing behind him is a Red Cross nurse, Tomeka Zeigler. Lawrence is donating on ALYX, a technology used to collect the most needed blood components based on patient needs. The system can collect two units of red blood cells from a single donation. With this method, donors can donate every 16 weeks. The donation takes about 25 minutes, but donors should plan for an hour. Red blood cells are the most frequently transfused blood component and with the ALYX system, donors are providing two complete, transfusion ready units. Males must be at least 5’1” and weigh at least 150 pounds; Females, at least 5’5”, 175 pounds. Donors may sign up online at www.givelife.org.
Photo by Jim Covington