Waukegan Public Library Plans Dec. 30 LifeSource Blood

While everyone is making their plans for New Year's Eve, the Waukegan Public Library is hoping that area residents will finish the year with a good deed by donating blood from 10:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. in the Bradbury Room at its library at 128 North County Street, Waukegan.

The blood drive is sponsored by LifeSource, Illinois' largest blood center.

For Waukegan Public Library Director Richard Lee, it's personal.

"Here's one way that you can really help support a life," says Lee, who has been an active blood donor since 1988. The library director estimates that he's donated approximately 8.375 gallons of blood over his career.

"I say to our local residents, 'Here's one way that you can really support a life this holiday season,'" Lee relates of the Dec. 30 drive. "So why not stop by the library over your lunch hour and donate?"

The timing of this Waukegan Public Library drive is essential: blood donations dip during the holiday season as routine donors take extended vacations and travel, so more public drives are needed to maintain local blood inventory.

The good deeds of Waukegan Public Library patrons on Dec. 30 mean that blood will be readily available at Chicagoland hospitals during the New Year's holiday.

Appointments for the blood drive are preferred, but all walk-ins are welcome. Donors can schedule their appointment by calling LifeSource at (877) 543-3768 or visiting www.lifesource.org and using the code WK28.

Blood donors must be at least 17 years old (or 16 years old with parental consent).

Along with hosting daily blood drives, LifeSource operates 19 community donor centers and 4 fixed sites with regular operating days and hours. In preparation for their donation, donors are asked to eat well, stay hydrated and arrive with proper identification.