John L. Scott of Mercer Island is holding a blood drive between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. (with a break between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.) at the Bloodworks (formerly Puget Sound Blood Center) bus in the McDonald’s parking lot off 78th Avenue S.E.

Holiday weekends are some of the most critical times for blood centers.Donations are down and patient needs are up. If you are going to be on the Island this weekend please stop by and donate. We could use all of the support you can offer to help our community.

The donations we receive go to supporting the hospitals and patients in the local community. They include the  Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Harborview Medical Center, the VA hospital, UW Medicine.

With an hour of your time you can save up to 3 lives in your community To schedule an appointment call 1-800-398-7888.  There are many appointment times available.

Before you donate, don’t forget to drink fluids, eat and bring your photo ID.