BLOOD DRIVES: Van Buren County

The Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center will hold a pair of blood drives in Birmingham in late September.

The Keosauqua Health Care Center will host a community blood drive from noon to 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 24, inside the MVRBC bus parked at 819 Country Lane Road in Keosauqua.

To donate, contact Kayla Schwartz at 319-931-5469 or visit www.bloodcenterimpact.org and use code 5492 to locate the drive.

The Birmingham Lions Club will host the second blood drive from 3-6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26 at the Birmingham Lions Building in Birmingham.

To donate, contact Harry Anderson at 319-498-4201 or visit www.bloodcenterimpact.org and use code 5006 to locate the drive.

Potential donors must be at least 17 years of age, although a 16-year-old with a parental permission form available through www.bloodcenter.org also can donate. Donors must weigh more than 110 pounds. A photo I.D. is required. Individuals with diabetes or controlled high blood pressure can be accepted as eligible donors. For questions about eligibility, call the 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 100 hospitals in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin. MVRBC is the exclusive provider to Van Buren County Hospital in Keosauqua.