Encourage Citizens to Participate in Their Local Blood Drive

ENCOURAGE CITIZENS TO PARTICIPATE IN THEIR LOCAL BLOOD DRIVE

* Mr. WALBERG. Madam Speaker, the renowned author William Shakespeare once wrote, ``How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.'

* It is in that spirit of brotherly love that I come before this House to address an issue of great urgency back in my south-central Michigan district.

* According to a January 28, 2007 article in the Lansing State Journal, Michigan's statewide blood inventory levels ``have remained below an adequate supply for all negative blood types since early January.

* The article goes on to state that a 72-hour supply of blood is typically necessary for the needs of patients in Michigan's 127 hospitals, but the inventory level of certain blood types in Michigan has dropped to just a 12- to 24-hour supply.

* This past weekend I had the opportunity to participate in the St. Gerard Blood Drive held in Delta Township in Michigan's Eaton County. While I confess I have never been a fan of needles, the feeling of civic duty experienced by myself and all the donors that day far outweighed any temporary pain we may have felt as a result of a needle.

* It's said that a faithful friend is the medicine of life, and I urge my fellow Michiganders and Americans across this great country to heed the call of organizations like the Red Cross and make an appointment at your local blood donation center.

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