February 3, 2011
02/04/11 With this latest round of severe winter storms, the local American Red Cross has been unable to collect over 820 expected pints of blood over the course of the last three days. Over 20 blood drives across the 50 county coverage area were forced to be cancelled throughout the week.
Further compounding the issue, many Red Cross blood drives across the country have also been cancelled and the number of blood donations uncollected due to winter storms over the last several weeks rose to 28,000 since January 1.
“At any given moment we have patients relying on life-saving blood products. And this need is constant, even in emergency situations,” said Sharyn Whitman, CEO for the Indiana-Ohio Blood Services Region of the American Red Cross. “The quickest help will come from those local blood donors who are able to safely travel to a blood drive or donor center near them. We are encouraging the public to donate blood and platelets as soon as it is safe to travel in the coming days and weeks.”
All blood types are needed, but there is a particular need for donors with O-negative blood since O-negative can be transfused into patients of all blood types. People are asked to make and keep an appointment to give blood by calling 1-800-RED CROSS or visiting redcrossblood.org.
People have been responding to the call for blood donors, and the Red Cross is grateful to those who are stepping up to donate blood to help build the blood supply back to sufficient levels. The Red Cross distributes blood products to approximately 3,000 hospitals and transfusion centers across the United States.
UPCOMING AMERICAN RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVES IN YOUR AREA:
How to Donate Blood
To schedule an appointment to donate please call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit redcrossblood.org for more information. Individuals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental permission in some states), meet weight and height requirements (110 pounds or more, depending on their height) and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. Please bring your Red Cross blood donor card or other form of positive ID when you come to donate.