Fairfield, Batavia blood drives set

The Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center mobile drew 40 pints of blood Feb. 5 at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds Activities Center.

The blood center will be holding two more blood drives locally: from 2-6:30 p.m. Feb. 25 at First United Methodist Church, in the church dining room; and from 3-7 p.m. Feb. 26 at the Batavia Senior Center in Batavia.

For appointments in Fairfield, call Melva Dahl at 472-5762, and for appointments in Batavia, call the blood center at 800-452-1097.

Donors must be at least 16 years old, be in good health, and weigh at least 110 pounds. A blood donor card or other photo identifiction is required to donate. Sixteen-year-olds must have a signed parental consent form each time they donate until reaching 17 years of age. Consent forms are available at www.bloodcenter.org.

To be eligible for donation on Feb. 25, donors must have donated last on or before Dec. 31. To be eligible for donation on Feb. 26, donors must have donated last on or before Jan. 1.

According to the blood center, blood donation is a safe, simple procedure that can be done every eight weeks, takes about an hour to complete, and each donation can save up to three lives.

For more information, visit the blood center?s website or call 800-452-1097.