FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 1, 2008

Give blood, get $10 gasoline card at July 8 drive

Monmouth County partners with Central Jersey Blood Center

FREEHOLD – Whoever thought donating blood would give you gas?

The Central Jersey Blood Center is easing gas pains by offering $10 Exxon/Mobil gas cards to every person who donates blood at the Monmouth County blood drive on July 8. In addition, all donors that day will be entered into a drawing for a $500 gas card and tickets to see Rod Stewart.

The July 8 blood drive is being held from noon to 6 p.m. at the Monmouth County Department of Public Health, 3435 Route 9, Freehold.

“We are going into our slow period of time with donations, and our collections are very low going into the July 4 weekend,” said Debra Shapiro, director of donor recruitment for Central Jersey  Blood Center. “We have begun to give out the gas cards and we have found that it has really helped.”

Shapiro reminds donors that they must eat before donating, and they must be healthy, at least 17 years old and weigh at least 120 pounds. All equipment is sterile and disposable, and donors can give every eight weeks, if they wish.

“Our hospitals rely on blood drives to keep blood supplies at a safe level,” Freeholder Director Lillian G. Burry said. “I urge everyone in the county to give blood at some point during the year, and this Monmouth County sponsored blood drive is a good place to start.”

Central Jersey Blood Center has been entering all donors into a weekly drawing for a $500 gas card at all of its blood drive locations this summer. The $10 gas cards and concert tickets were added to the July 8 drive as an extra incentive during the typically slow donation period.

“It’s not on people’s No. 1 list of things to do this weekend,” Shapiro said.

The Monmouth County Department of Public health is located on Route 9 north, next to Kinder University.

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