Giving Blood in Cortland County The American Red Cross continues to be responsible for almost half of the nations blood supply. Here in Cortland County we collected 4,459 units of blood between July 2005 & December 2006. All blood donated to the Red Cross comes from healthy, volunteer donors. Did you know… Individuals may donate every 56 days No monetary or tangible incentives are given to donors. The only motivation individuals have to donate blood comes from the “good feeling” he/she has after donating. Only 5% of the eligible population donates. A total of 72 blood drives were held in Cortland County between July 2005 & December 2006. That’s about one per week! Thanks to the 1,017 hours volunteered by chapter representatives, and the 868 hours put in by sponsor volunteers, these blood drives were a success. American Red Cross Blood Services, NY-Penn Region's headquarters is located in West Henrietta, NY, (a suburb of Rochester). The NY-Penn Region: Serves 62 counties in two states, comprising a population of 6.2 million citizens who depend on the American Red Cross for their scheduled and emergency blood needs Is one of 38 multi-county regions spanning the United States Serves more than 130 hospitals Distributes more than 1,000 units of blood to hospitals daily Distributes more than 780,000 blood products annually Collects more than 305,000 units of blood annually; third largest Region in the American Red Cross system Employs some 750 individuals in operating locations in Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse Is committed to meeting the needs of patients in the region with safe, reliable, cost-effective blood and blood products Apheresis is a special process where a donor can donate only their platelets. Area hospitals need nearly 100 apheresis platelet donors every day to help critically ill patients in their fight for recovery. To find out more about being an apheresis donor call Apheresis Recruitment at 1-800-724-1875.