Assemblyman Will Barclay (R,C,I—Pulaski) will host an American Red Cross blood drive on Friday, May 3, at the Elks Lodge in Oswego, which is located at 132 W. 5th Street.

"The Red Cross does so much good in providing blood for emergency rooms and hospitals throughout our region, which saves lives every day, that I'm happy to dedicate a day to help the local chapter find more donors," said Barclay.

Anyone is welcome to donate blood. Appointments are encouraged. To schedule an appointment for the May 3 event, call Assemblyman Barclay’s office at 315-598-5185. It takes about 8-10 minutes to give blood with a total time to register and replenish with provided snacks of about an hour and 15 minutes.

There will be door prizes given for those who attend. Assemblyman Barclay will give away an American flag at the blood drive through a raffle as well as several local business gift cards. There will also be a $50 Lowe's gift card given to one donor.

“The Red Cross is proud to work with Assemblyman Will Barclay on the May 3 Blood Drive. We are still in critical need of different blood types, and we hope to bring in many people who are willing to give that day. I want to thank the Assemblyman and his staff for taking time out of their busy schedules to help in arranging the upcoming drive,” said Danielle Hayden, branch manager of the American Red Cross of CNY.

According to the Red Cross:

• Only 38% of the U.S. population is able to donate blood.
• The amount collected at one donation (one pint) can save three lives.
• Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood.
• More than 44,000 blood donations are needed every day.
• The blood type most often requested by hospitals is Type O.
• More than one million new people are diagnosed with cancer each year. Many of them will need blood, sometimes daily, during their chemotherapy treatment.
• A single car accident victim can require as many as 100 pints of blood.