During the week of September 16-22, the American Red Cross will join other blood centers across the country in celebrating Blood Collectors Week, sponsored by AABB and Fenwal Blood Technologies. This annual recognition highlights the critical role blood collectors serve in helping to ensure blood is available to patients in need.

During this special week, the Red Cross honors its blood collection staff for their role in educating donors and helping to ensure a safe and comfortable donation experience. Blood collection professionals help facilitate either a whole blood or apheresis donation. In a whole blood donation, a pint of blood is collected and then divided into its therapeutic components for transfusion. With an apheresis donation, a donor gives a specific therapeutic component-platelets, plasma or red blood cells. Red blood cells represent the blood component in highest demand with about 14 million units transfused annually.

"The dedicated work…