| Home > About Provident > Press Releases > 2005 > September 1, 2005 Inventory of Blood In Need of Immediate Replenishment FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 1, 2005 FOR MORE INFORMATION
Vickie Cox
Corporate Communications, (410) 277-2063 September 1, 2005 — The Greater Chesapeake & Potomac (GC & P) Blood Services Region reports that inventory of all blood types has fallen to levels far below sufficient, with less than a one-day supply of each blood type available for distribution to local hospitals. Replenishing inventories of all blood types is critically important in order to ensure that hospitals will receive their orders for blood products throughout and following the holiday weekend. The GC & P Region is issuing a plea for an immediate response from the community. Those with scheduled appointments are asked to make every effort to honor their scheduled appointment, and those without appointments are asked to call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE immediately. Platelet donors are also needed during this critical time, with appointments available by calling 1-800-272-2123. "We need the public to take a very active role in helping ensure that blood is available for local patients in need," said Gary Ouellette, Chief Executive Officer for the GC & P Region. "In some cases, a single trauma victim can require over 100 units of blood. We need the community's help in building our inventory up to a safe and sufficient level so that we can be prepared to respond with lifesaving blood products if and when these situations occur." WHO CAN GIVE BLOOD?
Donors must: - Be in generally good health;
- Be at least 17 years of age, or, in the state of Maryland only, 16 years of age with parental consent
- Weigh no less than 110 pounds;
- Have NOT received a tattoo within the past year;
- Have NOT donated whole blood within the past 56 days.
In addition to asking individual members of the community to donate blood, the American Red Cross strongly encourages businesses and community groups to schedule and organize blood drives. Any groups interested in scheduling a drive or obtaining further information is asked to call 1-800-787-9282, ext. 4925. **The American Red Cross is offering all participants a special Labor Day t-shirt from now until September 11 as a token of appreciation! Provident Bankshares Corporation is the holding company for Provident Bank. With $6.6 billion in assets, Provident serves individuals and businesses in the key urban areas of Baltimore, Washington and Richmond through a network of 149 offices in Maryland, Virginia, and southern York County, PA. Provident Bank also offers related financial services through wholly owned subsidiaries. Securities brokerage, investment management and related insurance services are available through Provident Investment Center and leases through Court Square Leasing and Provident Lease Corp. Visit Provident on the web at www.provbank.com.
| | | |
