Piedmont Fayette Hospital will host a blood drive for the American Red Cross Thursday, June 8 from noon to 5 p.m. on the third floor of the hospital’s 1279 building, located west of the main hospital campus.

Walk-in donors are welcome but those with appointments will be honored first, officials said. To make an appointment, call the hospital’s auxiliary office at 770-719-7098.

Donors must be healthy, at least 17 years old and weigh at least 110 pounds. A person can donate blood every 56 days, which works out to six times a year.

Blood is always needed for the treatment of accident victims, cancer patients, hemophiliacs and surgery patients. Blood donors save more than 4 million lives a year, according to the American Red Cross.

Blood donations are especially needed during the summer months because normal blood drives are cancelled and vacations interfere with donors’ schedules, officials said.

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