Three blood drives this week after high donor response

MILWAUKEE -- It's called the Declaration for Donations. On Monday, July 2nd, the BloodCenter of Wisconsin set up shop at Milwaukee's Alverno College, as people filed in to make donations and help save lives.

"We had a great response last week from a blood drive that we had, and had more people that wanted to donate, so we set up this blood drive in response to that," Tara Pfeifer with the BloodCenter of Wisconsin said.

Pfeifer said the BloodCenter needs more than 1,000 people to donate each day to keep pace with demand. Officials say donations increase during the summer, particularly during the stretch of Independence Day celebrations.

"The donors in southeastern Wisconsin are always great, and always respond when we need the blood and so far they've been great, but we still need their help," Pfeifer said.

Pfeifer said last week's drive tallied about 1,100 donors and forced the BloodCenter to offer three more blood drives this week.

"You feel comfortable, welcome and safe. There's no reason to feel like it's not a safe thing to do," Pfeifer said.

Part of the current campaign's popularity is due to the fact that donors receive a complimentary admission ticket to either the Wisconsin State Fair or Summerfest.

While people say they appreciate the tickets, many explain said that's not why they came.

"It makes you feel good that you're giving back to the human race a little bit," one donor said.

There will be two more blood drives this week.

The first will be on Tuesday, July 3rd, from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center in the Marcus Pavilion, located at 6225 N. Santa Monica Blvd. in Whitefish Bay.

The second will be Thursday, July 5th from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus located at 1800 S. 92nd St in West Allis.

To make an appointment, go online for the Whitefish Bay or West Allis location, or call 1-877-BE-A-HERO (877)232-4376 or (414)937-6199.

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