MCC-Blue River blood drive to aid Joplin, western Missouri

There is still no such thing as a "blood cell factory"

Joplin tornado survivors are still in the hearts and minds of the MCC-Blue River community, and a June 29 blood drive on campus will present an opportunity to send help to the ravaged western Missouri city. Community Blood Center is working hard to resupply western Missouri with blood since a great amount of their resources have been directed to the tornado disaster area.

Aside from the benefit donors will be providing to their community, they can also earn points from Community Blood Center toward rewards (see previous detailed article). You can make an appointment online at www.savealifenow.org and use the sponsor code “blueriver” to receive reward points for your donation.

Immediately following the tornado, Community Blood Center (CBC) shipped life-saving blood to the Ozarks to support the rescue and relief efforts. Seeking to continue their life-saving efforts, CBC Director Maureen O’Sullivan says:

Many people still want to help, so here is what we need: The Community Blood Center of the Ozarks has
asked for our help this summer to replace blood drives that will be lost in the Joplin area due to the tornado. Every blood center struggles to collect enough blood during the summer, and we are no exception. Our summer blood inventory is often at a one day supply or less and we will not be able to help Joplin unless we can meet the needs of our hospitals first. Please help us increase our blood collection during the summer months, so we in turn can help all of those hospitals and patients in the Joplin area.

Contact David Owens for further blood drive information at 816.604.6426

Blood Drive, Wednesday, June 29, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the MCC-Blue River campus in Campus Center room 129, 20301 E 78 Highway, Independence, Mo.