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Season of Giving Blood Drive Thursday and Friday
Season of Giving Blood Drive Thursday and Friday
MILWAUKEE -- The annual Season of Giving Blood Drive kicked off on Thursday, December 27th. The blood drive, held at the Milwaukee County Zoo runs through Friday.
Donating blood is something that has always been a part of Andre Robinson's life, but 11 years ago this act of kindness took on a whole new meaning after his daughter, Sophie was born with a rare genetic disorder.
"Before it was something that I just did because I thought it was the nice thing to do, and now it's something that I do because I realize that it really does save people's lives," Robinson said.
After multiple surgeries, Sophie needed more than 10 units of blood. Without blood donations, she likely wouldn't have survived.
"It was terrifying. There were really moments where we didn't know if she was ever going to make it home," Robinson said.
The Season of Giving Blood Drive is an annual event held at the Milwaukee County Zoo.
"It's one of the best things you can do for someone. You can't get blood from anywhere else so it's nice to be able to give to others," blood donor Danielle Ernster said.
According to the BloodCenter of Wisconsin, about one in three people will need a blood transfusion at some point in life, but only 5% of the population donates blood.
"BloodCenter serves all the hospitals in southeastern Wisconsin and we need to see about 800 donors a day and because of the inclement weather we had last week that really dropped significantly to about 400 a day," BloodCenter of Wisconsin Director of Public Relations Fay Spano said.
Sophie attended the blood drive with her family and said it gave her a sense of hope.
"It's special to me because maybe even one of these people here might've donated their blood for me when I was a baby," Sophie Robinson said.
The Season of Giving Blood Drive is going on at the Milwaukee County Zoo on Thursday, December 27th from 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. and Friday, December 28th from 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Donors must be at least 17 years old, in good health and have a photo ID available.
Call 1-877-BE-A-HERO to make an appointment.
CLICK HERE for additional information via the BloodCenter of Wisconsin's website.