Blood was pumping at Northwest Christian Church on Carey Road — but not from exercise.
Instead, The Free Press and American Red Cross staged a blood drive on Tuesday in an attempt to save lives and raise awareness.
Billy Moore — who works in the advertising department at The Free Press and is the blood drive chairman — said the newspaper has been sponsoring the drives for over 20 years. He donates blood at least two or three times a year.
“The main reason we sponsor the blood drives is because we want to help save people’s lives,” Moore said. “We can promote in our paper and get people to realize the importance of donating blood.”
Kinston resident Robert Parrish hasn’t had any problems recognizing how vital donating blood is, as he gives about four or five times per year.
“I’ve been giving for about 40 years,” said Parrish, who donated at the church on Tuesday. “It’s just something that became a routine.”
Some citizens can be in higher demand because of rarities in their blood that could assist those in dire need. Kinston resident Penelope Harris was one of those individuals who fell into that category, also donating on Tuesday.
“I have a rare antibody in my blood and I received a letter asking to donate,” Harris said. “I wanted to come out and save somebody’s life.”
Each potential donor signs in and reads a book about the process and certain diseases that could prevent a donation. Then, the donor goes to the history tent to get blood pressure, temperature and pulse readings. After the donor is qualified, a bed is prepared, the arm is made sterile and a pint of blood is collected. The process of donating blood takes about seven to 10 minutes.
“We have donors go through a demanding and regulated process because you have to think about the person receiving the product,” Bette Rutherford-Ferguson — Eastern N.C. Field Operations supervisor — said. “We have to guarantee safe and pure blood.”
Although there are quite a few regulations — each donor must be healthy, at least 17 years old and weigh more than 110 pounds for starters — the process is still rewarding. Red Cross Collection Specialist Betty Robinson enjoys the time she gets to spend with each donor.
“This job gives a lot of experience with people’s lives, learning about them and helping others,” Robinson said.
For those who want to donate and missed Tuesday’s event, Vernon Park Mall will be the place for donors to give blood today; the drive will be held from 2-7 p.m. Those donating blood are asked to bring valid ID and encouraged to drink plenty of fluids prior to arriving at the mall.
Junious Smith III can be reached at 252-559-1077 and Junious.Smith@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JuniousSmithIII.
