12th Annual Holiday Blood drive for Red Cross

• WHAT: 12th Annual Tulsa Holiday Blood Drive with the American Red Cross, KRMG and FOX23.
• WHEN: Wednesday, December 18th and Thursday, December 19th from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
• WHERE: The Red Cross Tulsa Blood Donation Center - on E. 11th Street just west of 169.
  We also have a 2nd location to donate at, which is at the Woodland Hills Mall from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m
• GIVEAWAYS: All those coming to donate during the Tulsa Holiday Blood Drive will receive a long-sleeved Red Cross T-shirt, while supplies last.

MORE DETAILED INFO:

• Appointments for the Tulsa Holiday Blood Drive can be made by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting redcrossblood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
•  The Red Cross urgently needs blood and platelet donors to give now to ensure blood is available for medical treatments and emergencies during the holiday season. 
•  Blood and platelet donations often decline during the holidays when regular donors are busy with holiday activities and travel.
• Snowstorms and severe winter weather may also cause blood drive cancellations and further impact donations.
• Type O positive and O negative blood donors are especially needed.
• Type O positive is the most transfused blood type and can be transfused to Rh-positive patients of any blood type.
• Type O negative is the universal blood type and what emergency room personnel reach for when there is no time to determine the blood type of patients in the most serious situations.
• Donors are urged to give now to ensure that patients don’t have to worry about the availability of blood this winter. 
• Medical treatments and emergencies that require blood don't stop for the holidays.
• The Red Cross must collect more than 2,500 platelets and 13,000 blood donations every day for patients at about 2,600 hospitals nationwide.
• Blood and platelets are needed for accident and burn victims, heart surgery and organ transplant patients, and those receiving treatment for leukemia, cancer or sickle cell disease.

About the American Red Cross 

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit RedCross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.