Fall marks the beginning of spending time with family and friends, watching football, celebrating Thanksgiving, the Holidays, and the New Year. But for patients in need of blood those moments can be filled with uncertainty as they fight illnesses, injury, or heal from surgery.

One way to give thanks for your health, and take care of those around you, is to donate blood. Every two to three seconds someone in this country needs blood. Hospitals don’t close for holidays, and the need for blood never goes away. It can only come from a volunteer like you.

The next opportunity to donate blood in your community will be Tuesday, Nov. 6 at Ipswich from 12:45 to 6 p.m. Contact Larry Stafford at 605-216-7354 to make an appointment. Or call Vitalant (formerly United Blood Services) at 1-877-258-4825 for more information.

To save time, donors can now fill out their Health History online at http://www.vitalant.org the day of their donation. To donate blood, volunteers must be at least 16 years old and in good health (16 and 17 year old donors need a minor donor permit which is available online).