[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 18 (Tuesday, January 30, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E212]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      ENCOURAGE CITIZENS TO PARTICIPATE IN THEIR LOCAL BLOOD DRIVE

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                          HON. TIMOTHY WALBERG

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 30, 2007

  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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