For Immediate Release	Contact: Patricia Giramma
April 16, 2008	508-961-5272
	girammap@southcoast.org
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NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The Southcoast Blood Bank urgently needs blood donors.

"We need all blood types with an urgent request for type ÔO' blood," said Sandra Pires, the Donor Recruiter for the Southcoast Blood Bank at St. Luke's Hospital.

"Blood supplies are low nationally, which puts a increased strain on our local supplies. We are concerned going into the summer months, when donations tend to decrease even more, that our supply will reach a critical low," Pires said.

Give Blood/Get a T-Shirt in April

The Southcoast Blood Bank will be giving away a free Southcoast Hospitals' "I'm a Donor" T-shirt on Wednesdays during the month of April.

The T-shirt will be available on Wednesdays at all Southcoast blood donor locations, including the Southcoast Blood Bank at St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford and the Southcoast Health Van.

Hours / Community Blood Drives

The Southcoast Blood Bank is located off the main lobby at St. Luke's Hospital, 101 Page Street in New Bedford. The Blood Bank is open for walk-ins Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday, 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Appointments are requested, but not necessary, and can be made by calling 508-961-5320.

The Southcoast Blood Bank is also hosting community blood drives during the month of April 2008 on the Southcoast Health Van:

FALL RIVER
Thursday April 17
Webster Bank
33 Sullivan Dr.
8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Friday, April 18
Charlton Memorial Hospital
363 Highland Ave.
8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

NEW BEDFORD
Tuesday, April 22
Whaler's Cove
114 Riverside Ave.
9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 29
Building 19
19 Hathaway Rd
. 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

WESTPORT
Thursday, April 24
The Cedars (Health Fair)
628 Old Wesport Rd.
9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

WAREHAM
Friday, April 25
Wal-Mart
3005 Cranberry Highway
9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The St. Luke's Blood Bank is 90 percent self-supporting, meaning that 90 percent of the blood used in the hospital comes from local volunteer donors. Typically, St. Luke's uses nearly 600 pints of blood a month. In addition to emergency cases, blood is needed for people undergoing surgery, and patients receiving treatment for leukemia, cancer, or other diseases, such as sickle cell anemia and hemophilia.

What to expect when you donate.

When prospective donors come to the Blood Bank, staff discuss their medical history and make sure they are able to donate. Potential donors also fill out a confidential questionnaire on their medical backgrounds. These measures safeguard the health of the donor as well as the health of the person receiving blood. The whole process of the interview and the actual donating usually takes 20 to 25 minutes. The donor's body replaces the fluid lost from donation in 24 hours and the red blood cells in about eight weeks.

Who's eligible to donate?

Blood donors should be in good health (no colds or flu), at least 18 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, have not taken drugs or alcohol recently, are over 70 and have your physician's permission. Donors who have traveled in Africa should call first. Donors who have spent more than three months cumulative in the United Kingdom since 1980 also should call first. For more information on how to be a donor, call 508-961-5320.

About Southcoast

Southcoast Health System is a community based health delivery system with multiple access points, offering an integrated continuum of health services throughout Southeastern Massachusetts and East Bay, Rhode Island. It includes the three hospitals that make up Southcoast Hospitals Group — Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford and Tobey Hospital in Wareham.

Southcoast provides advanced clinical services, such as open heart surgery, angioplasty and heart rhythm services, neurosurgery, weight loss surgery, orthopedic surgery and advanced imaging services. Southcoast is a not-for-profit charitable organization that depends on the support of the community to provide services.

More information is available onlinwww.southcoast.org.

Media Contact

Patricia Giramma
Media Relations
Phone: 508-961-5272
Pager: 978-859-6077
Fax: 508-961-5876
girammap@southcoast.org