Blood donors to win airline tickets

The American Red Cross is starting the new year with a giving spirit.

The organization has revived its “Live Life, Give Life” promotion, which will reward three donors with a pair of round-trip airline tickets on Delta Airlines.

The promotion is one way to thank donors for their time, said April Phillips, a spokeswoman for the southern blood services region of the Red Cross.

Through March 31, each person who attempts to donate blood or platelets may enter for a chance to win the tickets, she said.

According to the Red Cross Web site, the southern blood services region falls into the organization’s Southeast Division. The division is headquartered in Douglasville, collects and distributes more than 994,062 units of blood and 116,220 units of platelets each year and serves more than 387 hospitals in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, the Carolinas, Florida and Puerto Rico.

The southern blood services region serves more than 120 hospitals in Georgia, and approximately half of the blood collected in the state comes from the metro Atlanta area, Phillips said.

While the economic downturn hasn’t has a significant effect on blood donation, the weather could severely impact donations and blood supplies, she said.

“Because we’re an import region we have to bring in 50,000 to 60,000 units of blood from other regions each year just to meet our local needs,” she said. “And every day of the year, somebody needs blood, so the need for it never stops.”