Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital recently received the Platinum Achievement Award during the American Red Cross’s Sponsor Recognition Breakfast and Regional Awards Presentation at the Porter Valley Country Club in Northridge for collecting 520 units of blood last year.

And in keeping with the tradition of collecting the life-giving fluid, the hospital has scheduled its next blood drive on Thursday, April 5 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the HMNMH/COC Clinical Education Center on the hospital’s campus. To make an appointment, please call (661) 253-8888 or register online at redcrossblood.org and enter in sponsor code henrymayo.

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Every day, thousands of people rely on blood donors to help them maintain optimum health. Henry Mayo partners with the American Red Cross to host six blood drives each year on the hospital campus. Blood collected at Henry Mayo is processed by the American Red Cross and dedicated to the hospital. That means that the blood is returned to the hospital for patient use.

In addition to on-campus blood drives, the American Red Cross also hosts drives throughout the community with dozens of businesses, schools, and community organizations. The blood collected at these hospital affiliate drives is also dedicated to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital. For each unit of blood collected at these drives, the hospital receives a credit towards its blood purchases

“Hospital staff and community members participate in the blood drives and regularly donate to the hospital in an effort to help save lives of our local trauma patients,” said Cindy Martin, director of Laboratory Services at Henry Mayo.”These donations make lives better for surgery patients or those who need blood to ensure their quality of life and help keep the hospital blood bank stocked during shortages.”

For each unit of blood that is collected, the hospital also earns a $40 credit of the blood it purchases from the American Red Cross. The blood that is collected at our blood drive not only benefits the hospital monetarily with credits, it benefits the community as a whole.

“The blood drive allows the blood bank first right of refusal on the blood products we collect,” Martin said. “So if we collect 100 units and we are in the middle of a blood shortage (which often occurs after the Christmas holidays and summer holidays, for instance), then we get to choose the amount of units and the blood types we need here at the hospital before they are distributed elsewhere.”