The Bryan W. Whitfield Memorial Hospital Auxiliary’s Annual Fall Blood Drive will be held Monday, October 10 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Demopolis Civic Center and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Bryan W. Whitfield Memorial Hospital.

“We’re excited to have two locations to better serve our donors this year,” said Rebecca Culpepper, President of the Auxiliary.

“Because the hospital’s employees can’t easily leave the hospital to donate, and because many times we have so many at the civic center who wish to donate but don’t have time to wait in line so long, we thought having it at two locations would be our best bet. We want to make it as easy as possible for people to donate blood.”

All blood types are needed, especially type O negative and O positive. Of all hospital patients who will need blood, 50 percent will use type O. To donate blood, you must be 17 or older, weigh at least 110 pounds, have not donated in the past 8 weeks, and are not currently taking antibiotics.

Also, United Blood Services requires donors to show identification containing a legal name and one of the following: date of birth, social security number, United Blood Services assigned donor number, or photo of the donor.

Some types of identification are: driver’s license, UBS donor card, social security card, security badge (picture and donor’s name) and passport.

According to United Blood Services, which serves Marengo, Greene, Hale, Clark, Tuscaloosa, Fayette, Sumter and Pickens counties in West Alabama, along with other facilities in East Mississippi, someone needs blood every three seconds. These patients may be accident victims, undergoing surgery, or patients receiving treatment for leukemia, cancer and other diseases. The blood donation process is safe, quick and easy and could help to save a life.

All who are eligible are encouraged to give the gift of life on Thursday. For more information or to schedule an appointment to donate, call Chrissy Brooker at 287-2626.