One Mississippi, two Mississippi.  Two seconds.  That’s how often someone in the United States needs a blood transfusion.  There are so many lives saved through blood donations – an accident victim, a patient with a disease requiring a lifetime of transfusions, someone with a scheduled surgical procedure, or perhaps a family member battling cancer, like my brother.  It’s pretty straight forward.  When you donate blood, you save lives.

Carter BloodCare needs 1,500 blood donors each day to meet the requirements of the patients in the fifty-seven counties they serve in North, Central, and East Texas. According to Carter BloodCare, sixty percent of the local blood supply is typically collected at blood drives.  To keep up with the demand, at least 700 blood drives must be hosted monthly throughout our region.  I am so grateful to the members of Grace who have faithfully given blood during one of our drives or at another donation center.  In the past two years, we have donated enough blood to save more than 200 lives!

So, get ready to roll up your sleeve in 2025.  We will host 4 blood drives next year.  Mark your calendar for January 19, 2025, April 27, 2025, August 24, 2025, and November 9, 2025 to donate at Grace and give the gift of life. If you are unable to make one of the drives hosted on our campus, please share the sponsor number for Grace Presbyterian Church when you donate at a Carter BloodCare location.  The sponsor number is SPON105217.   Your donation will be recorded as a donation from our church and shows our commitment to saving lives.