The Chaparral Fire Department and Vitalant are holding a blood drive today from 4pm - 6pm at the fire station which is located in Chaparral, New Mexico at 500 E. Lisa.

Blood supplies often dwindle in the summer months and with the recent COVID 19 issues like quarantines, school closings, job losses, etc; regular donors have been unable to come in as often as usual. Those regular donors actually only account for about 10 percent of all eligible donors as it is according to Vitalant.

COVID 19 safety precautions are in place for both donors and staff members.

Donors must be at least 16 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds and be in good health.  Donors aged 16 and 17 must have a permission form signed by their parent or guardian. For more info, click here.

Your blood donation can help in a number of ways and each donation can potentially save up to 3 lives. The way it works is, each unit of blood gets separated into 4 components ... red and white blood cells, platelets and plasma. Those can then be given to different patients to save or at least improve their lives.

Speaking of the Chaparral Fire Department, they are a volunteer group of firefighters and they are currently looking for new recruits. If you are interested ... and you meet the requirements ... you can fill out an application here. Then, bring it to the fire station which is located at 500 E, Lisa in Chaparral, New Mexico. Applicants must, of course, be physically able to perform some very demanding tasks.

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