Remington College of Nursing Partners with New Covenant Baptist Church for September 22 Blood Drive in Orlando
Blood drive to be held as part of National Sickle Cell Awareness Month to increase the number of minority blood donors
Heathrow, Fla. – (September 15, 2010) – September is National Sickle Cell Awareness Month and Remington College is holding blood drives on all its campuses in an effort to increase the number of minority blood donors. According to the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, more than 70,000 people in the U.S. have this life-threatening disease.
Remington College has partnered with the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA) and America’s Blood Centers to hold a series blood drives on all its campuses. The effort is called 3 Lives – because three lives may be saved for every one pint of blood donated. During 2010, Remington College campuses have collected a total of 1,479 pints of blood.
In Orlando, Remington College of Nursing and New Covenant Baptist Church are partnering for a blood drive to be held at the church on Sunday, September 26 from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. The church is located at 2210 South Rio Grande Ave.
The blood drive will focus on the need for minority donors – especially African Americans.
According to the SCDAA, African American donors are vital to many people battling sickle cell disease because they provide blood with unique antigens. The best blood match for a chronically ill patient requiring multiple blood transfusions will likely come from a donor of the same ethnic background. Blood transfusions help benefit sickle cell disease patients by reducing recurrent pain crises, risk of stroke and other complications.
While the focus is on recruiting minority donors, everyone is encouraged to attend the September drive and donate blood. All the blood collected will be used to help people in the Orlando area.
“Our goal is to help people battling sickle cell disease and raise awareness of the need for more minority blood donors in the Orlando community,” said Dr. Randolph Bracy Jr., Pastor at New Covenant Baptist Church.
While walk-ins at the blood drive are welcome, donors are encouraged to schedule an appointment in advance by calling Florida’s Blood Centers at 1-888-9-Donate. Donors can also sign up online at https://www.fbcdonor.org/ and enter the sponsor code M4S8 to register for the September 26 event.
For more information, call 1-800-448-6405 or visit www.3Lives.com
For facts about sickle cell disease, please visit: http://www.sicklecelldisease.org/about_scd/faqs.phtml
About Remington College: Remington College is a common name used by all 20 campuses of a group of affiliated companies of privately-owned, post-secondary educational institutions based in Heathrow, Florida. Through its campuses, Remington College offers diplomas, bachelor’s and associate’s degrees in a variety of fields, including: cosmetology; nursing; healthcare; criminal justice; business; electronics; information technology; and more. Course offerings vary by campus. Remington College and its predecessor companies have been part of the higher education community since 1985. For more information, please visit http://www.remingtoncollege.edu/. For the latest news about Remington College, visit http://today.remingtoncollege.edu/.
Media contact:
Frank Wolff
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