Blood and Bone Marrow Donors Needed!

Assistant CAO Don Steuer gives blood at the CAC Blood Drive April 2.

Saving a life can be as simple as setting aside an hour or less out of your day.

The 30th Annual County Employees Blood Drive kicked off this morning at the County Administration Center. The event, which this year also includes a Be The Match marrow registry drive, will make 12 stops at County offices throughout the month of April.

Your first chance to donate is today—until 3:30 p.m. in the CAC’s Bayside Rooms 1 & 2. If you’re interested, just stop by. Appointments are encouraged but not required. For details on when and where the drives will take place, visit the County Employee Blood Drive Web page and scroll to the bottom.

Donating blood takes about an hour and the drives are open to employees and the general public. No appointment is necessary to join the Be The Match registry, and the process takes just five to 10 minutes. The nonprofit is seeking donors between the ages of 18 and 44. This registry benefits patients fighting more than 70 different diseases including blood cancers or sickle cell anemia.

County employee Greg Murphy donates blood at the CAC Blood Drive on April 2.The County’s blood drive is one of the largest and most important in the region each year, said San Diego Blood Bank CEO David Wellis. Only two drives are bigger—the Chargers and the Comic-Con blood drives.

The donations allow hospitals to maintain a supply of blood that is so critically needed, Wells said.  
“There’s always a need,” he said.

For more information on the marrow registry, contact Shelley Baker at Be The Match at 714-296-8479 (cell) or sbaker@nmdp.org or visit the organization’s website. For more information about the blood drive or to sign up, visit the County Employee Blood Drive Web page, the San Diego Blood Bank website or call 1-800-MY-4SDBB (469-7322).