Remington College Marks National Sickle Cell Awareness Month with Blood Drives to Increase the Number of Minority Blood Donors

Remington College leads 3 Lives effort with the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America and America’s Blood Centers

Heathrow, Fla. – (September 1, 2010) – September is National Sickle Cell Awareness Month and Remington College is holding blood drives on all its campuses in an effort to increase the number of minority blood donors.

According to the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, more than 70,000 people in the U.S. have this life-threatening disease.

Remington College has partnered with the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA) and America’s Blood Centers to hold a series blood drives on all its campuses. The effort is called 3 Lives – because three lives may be saved for every one pint of blood donated.

So far this year, Remington College campuses have collected a total of 1,479 pints of blood.

The September blood drives will focus on the need for minority donors – especially African Americans.

According to the SCDAA, African American donors are vital to many people battling sickle cell disease because they provide blood with unique antigens. The best blood match for a chronically ill patient requiring multiple blood transfusions will likely come from a donor of the same ethnic background. Blood transfusions help benefit sickle cell disease patients by reducing recurrent pain crises, risk of stroke and other complications.

While the focus is on recruiting minority donors, everyone is encouraged to attend the September drives and donate blood. All the blood collected will be used to help people in the communities where Remington College has campuses.

Based in Heathrow, Florida, Remington College offers diploma and degree programs at 20 campuses throughout the United States, including a new online campus. Its mission is to provide career-focused education through a variety of programs, including nursing, cosmetology, business office management and criminal justice.

For more information, call 1-800-448-6405 or visit www.3Lives.com.

About Remington College: Remington College is a common name used by all 20 campuses of a group of affiliated companies of privately-owned, post-secondary educational institutions based in Heathrow, Florida. Through its campuses, Remington College offers diplomas, bachelor’s and associate’s degrees in a variety of fields, including: cosmetology; nursing; healthcare; criminal justice; business; electronics; information technology; and more.  Course offerings vary by campus. Remington College and its predecessor companies have been part of the higher education community since 1985. For more information, please visit http://www.remingtoncollege.edu/. For the latest news about Remington College, visit http://today.remingtoncollege.edu/.

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Posted by Wellons Communications, an Orlando public relations firm.