Nationally, four million people need blood every year
- that is one patient every 12 seconds.
In 1997, 62,500 blood donations will have to be given
in order to meet patient needs in the New Mexico area. More than 225 donations
are needed each day.
It is estimated that 60% of the population will need
blood at sometime in their life. Only 4% of eligible donors choose to dante
blood.
There is no artificial substitute for blood. When the
people we love need blood, healthy human beings are the only source.
There are 8 differrent blood types, O-negative is the
universal blood type. It can be given to patients with any blood type,
which means that it is needed most.
In Taos last year, Holy Cross hospital used 621 components
of blood. From Taos blood drives, we collected 40 units of blood. This
means Taos residents are contributing less than 20% of the blood needs
for the area.
