Catholic parish sponsoring blood drive Saturday

You can be a hero just by donating a pint of blood.

Our Lady of Grace Catholic Parish is sponsoring a blood drive from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at MaricopaWells Middle School, 45012 W. Honeycutt Ave.

Caren Honnick, who hails from Canada and has spent her last five winters in Province, is a regular blood donor and was one of the first to sign up for Saturday’s drive.

Honnick estimated she has made between 65 to 70 donations in her life.

“I do it because there are a lot of people who can’t,” she said.

United Blood Services, a nonprofit that operates community blood centers across the nation, is collecting the donations.

Appointments can be made by calling Chuck Morene at 602-018-2744 or by visiting www.BloodHero.com and entering sponsor code: Maricopa. Walk-ins also are accepted. All blood donors this month will be entered in a raffle to win a VIP ticket package to the 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open.

To keep the blood supply safe, the application to donate blood has a long list of questions about a potential donor’s state of health, the medications he or she takes, the individual’s sexual behavior and the countries he or she has visited. Those questions eliminate a lot of people, Honnick said.

“My blood is healthy and donating is my way of thanking God for healthy blood,” she said. Honnick advised anyone who has never donated to give it a try.

“If you are concerned if you qualify, you can call and ask or answer the questions online,” she said. “Donating blood is not a big deal compared to what you are accomplishing.”