Columbia County EMA is holding a blood drive this Thursday, June 15.
Since 1999, Columbia County EMA has partnered with Shepeard Community Blood Center for blood drives, said Suzie Hughes, EMA deputy director. The blood drives are held each quarter because a person must wait eight weeks between blood donations.
“We’ve scheduled four throughout the year here at the EMA office,” Hughes said. “We also hold one at roads and bridges in Appling. We used to do kind of them on the same day, but we drifted away from that…they also hold four at roads and bridges throughout the year.”
Those who wish to donate can show up the day of, Hughes said. Once there, they will fill out a health questionnaire and then go through a health screening, Hughes said. But to make the process faster, donors can use the quick pass to answer the questions on their cell phones in advance.
“Doing the screening questionnaire online on my phone, it helps a whole lot,” Hughes said of her experience filling out the questionnaire prior to donating. “They do have the tablets there. You’re able to do them on the bus if needed. For total time, it takes about 15 minutes to donate, 15 to 20 minutes…we’ve had better success I believe with the mobiles coming out and this quick pass, the registration process is sped up a lot too with them enabling that quick pass for donors to use.”
Hughes said they usually have between 75 to 130 people donate, depending on the time of year. Those who donate will receive free food from Firehouse Subs and a free beach towel.
According to the Shepeard Community Blood Center website, those who can donate blood must weigh at least 110 pounds and are 17 years and older, or can be 16 with a signed parental consent form. For female donors, their minimum hemoglobin level must be 12.5 and for male donors it should be 13.
The Columbia County EMA Blood Drive will be Thursday, June 15 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 650 B Ronald Reagan Drive behind the EMA office in the judicial center parking lot.
Stephanie Hill is a staff writer covering Columbia County government for The Augusta Press. Reach her at stephanie@theaugustapress.com.
