BLOOD DRIVES: Batavia, Birmingham

Batavia Community

BATAVIA -- Batavia Community will host a blood drive from 3:30-6:30 p.m. July 23 at the Batavia Community/Senior Center.

Appointments to donate can be made by contacting the Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center at 800-452-1097 or www.bloodcenterimpact.org and using code 5135 to locate the drive.

Donors who last gave blood on or before May 28 are eligible to give at this drive.

Birmingham Lions Club

BIRMINGHAM -- Birmingham Lions Club will host a community blood drive from 3-6:30 p.m. July 25 at the Birmingham Lions Building.

'Due to summer vacations and the Fourth of July holiday, the blood supply is rather light,” said Harry Anderson of the Birmingham Lions Club. 'If you have an appointment, please try and keep it. If you would like to make an appointment, feel free to call me at 319-298-0727.”

For appointments to donate, contact Anderson or Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center at 800-452-1097 or www.bloodcenterimpact.org and use group sponsor code 5006 to locate the drive.

Donors who last gave blood on or before May 30 are eligible to give at this drive.

Anderson reminds donors to eat before donating.

All presenting donors will receive a voucher for a $10 gift card to Amazon.com, Casey's General Store, Dairy Queen or Domino's. All presenting donors also will be entered to win a $500 Visa gift card.

Donor eligibility criteria

Potential blood donors must be at least 17 years of age, although a 16-year-old can donate with parental permission. A parental permission form is available through the website www.bloodcenter.org.

Donors must weigh more than 110 pounds.

A photo I.D. is required to donate.

Individuals with diabetes or controlled high blood pressure can be accepted as eligible donors.

For information about eligibility, call the Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center at 800-747-5401.

Blood donation is a safe, simple procedure that takes about 45 minutes to one hour.

Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center is the provider of blood and blood components to more than 90 hospitals in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin. The blood center is the exclusive provider to Van Buren County Hospital in Keosauqua.