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Remington College-Lafayette Campus is continuing its series of blood drives to recruit more minority blood donors to benefit Lafayette residents in need of blood.

The next blood drive will be held on Tuesday, April 5 from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm and 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm.
Remington College has partnered with America’s Blood Centers (ABC) and the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA) for a series of 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.

Remington College recently received ABC’s National Partner of the Year Award for helping to raise awareness of the need for blood donors. In 2010, Remington College collected 2,650 pints of blood nationally.

The 3 Lives campaign highlights the need for minority blood donors – especially African Americans. According to America’s Blood Centers and the SCDAA, minority blood donors are in demand for several reasons:

• The best blood match for a chronically ill patient requiring multiple transfusions throughout their lifetime will likely come from a donor of the same ethnic background.

• African American donors provide blood with unique antigens, which can mean life-saving treatments for people battling sickle cell, leukemia and other diseases.

• More than half of the African American and Hispanic populations are Type O blood, the most requested blood type.

• Changing demographics are increasing the need for more minority blood donors.

• Approximately 100,000 people in the U.S. have sickle cell disease; many of them will require frequent blood transfusions.

While the focus is on recruiting minority donors, everyone is encouraged to attend the drive and donate blood. All the blood collected will be used to help people in the Lafayette area.

Remington College-Lafayette Campus is located at 303 Rue Louis XIV in Lafayette.