We are a non-profit community association established since 1987 that promotes cultural and civic activities for anyone who lives in Buckhead Ridge, Okeechobee.

Calendar of Events

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Date

Nov 19 2023
Expired!

Time

9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Join us at The Roundup

DATE: November 18 and 19
TIME: 9 AM to 5 PM
WHERE: Freshman Campus Auditorium, 610 SW 2nd Avenue in Okeechobee, Florida

QUESTIONS? Email Raye for answers at [email protected]

In 2010 we took our highest number of donations – 571. Last year we drew 179 units. We have no complaint, regardless of the number drawn, but we prefer a monster crowd so we can save Many More Lives.  PLEASE Come help this year. There is no upper age limit to donating…..Donating is actually a free physical – get on the bus and find out FOR FREE!

HERE ARE THE BENEFITS:
Donating SAVES MANY LIVES
Donating is a health check-up: People have been found to have life threatening conditions when their donated blood is processed. If that happens with you, you will be notified by One Blood to see your physician.
Giving is beneficial: If a man donates at least 3 times a year, He cuts his risk of heart attack by 60%.
Everyone gets great prizes and will be placed in a drawing for mega prizes.

PREPARING TO DONATE

Eat a solid food within 2 hours before donating
Drink lots of fluids before and after
A week before donating, eat iron rich foods – greens, red meat, total cereal
Take no calcium, nor tea prior to donating

Now that you know the information and benefits, come to The Blood Roundup which is held annually in November. It means you save lives and also get a FREE physical.

A LITTLE HISTORY:
Gladiator games began in about 3 BC and lasted into the 6th century AD. Galen, a 1st century Greek physician to emperors, treated gladiators to keep them working. He also wrote 350 books on the subject of blood and became the authority on European medicine for the next 1,000 years.

The Okeechobe Blood Roundup is a step up from what Galen did, as we know so much more about blood now.

  • The 1600s saw the discovery of blood circulation
  • The 1800s experimentation with different methods
  • 1900 was the discovery of blood types
  • 1936. Britain established the collection of blood for the war effort
  • 1940 Red Cross collection began for future use in the US

Many of us children of WWII watched our parents donate for the war effort. Today it is a vital part of our lives. There are still the same blood types. Do you know your type? Everyone’s blood type falls into one of the four basic blood groups: A, B, O and AB. Each have a positive or negative component, giving a total of 8 blood types. In the US, 37% are O , 7% are O-, 36% are A , 6% are A-, 3% are AB , 1% is AB-, 8% are B , 2% are B-
There are 10 to 12 pints of blood in a body, depending on height and weight. Your donation is typed and matched and entered into the system so it can be found when needed. We need donors from all ethnic, race, and geographic groups because they have the same requirements for transfusion. For instance, we urge black donations because only they have the blood ability to help fight sickle cell disease, found mostly in that race.
70% of the US has O or B blood – therefore O and B are the type most in demand. Nearly 60 percent of the Hispanic population has type O blood, which is most frequently requested by hospitals to treat a range of patients from trauma victims to premature babies.
Red cells main purpose is to carry oxygen thru body; Platelets help blood clot; Plasma (55% of blood volume) is the most underappreciated part of the blood. It transports nutrients, carries off waste, and maintains blood pressure. Plasma volume (the liquid portion of your blood) will return to normal levels within 72 hours of donating. Red blood cells (the oxygen-carrying cells) may take approximately two weeks to reach their normal levels.

WHEN CAN I DONATE AGAIN AFTER DONATING:
EVERY 4 MOs: Red cell donors
EVERY 56 DAYS: Whole-blood donors
EVERY 14 DAYS: platelet