The American Red Cross has a blood supply emergency.
Advertisement
Every 2 seconds in the United States, someone is in need of blood.
“It is critical that we are prepared to respond to blood needs because it is a matter of life and death”. With an ambitious goal of collecting more than 1,700 blood donations this year, the commitment made by the participating faith groups is to help collect almost 100 percent of the blood needed in July for the Red Cross Northern California Blood Services Region. Every donor can help save up to 3 people’s lives. “Plus, 25 percent of our blood donations come from adults 18 to 24 years old”.
The Blood Bank of Delmarva experiences a lower amount of people who donate blood in the summer for a couple of reasons, said Michael Waite, director of marketing and community relations for the Blood Bank.
The Red Cross needs whole blood and platelets.
“Our reserves of blood are now depleted to a less than one day supply on our shelves”, she continued. Less than 40% of the general population is eligible to donate blood and less than 10% of those eligible actually donate. “Donations are urgently needed now to meet the needs of hospital patients in the coming days and weeks”. The Tupelo donor center will also take donations and is open Monday from 8 a.m. -4 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. -6 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. -2 p.m.
So why donate? In addition to saving lives, all donors will be eligible to enter to WIN A NEW CAR.
While the blood drives are happening – and few people are donating – potential donors are on the roads.
According to Larscheid, the need for blood is relatively constant, but donations typically drop-off during the summer months when regular donors are vacationing or otherwise distracted. The Red Cross estimates that although an estimated 38 percent of the USA population is eligible to donate blood at any given time, less than 10 percent of that eligible population actually gives blood each year. “But, the donation itself usually takes less than ten minutes”, says Frosini.
Advertisement
For information about donating, you can download the “Blood Donor” app for your smartphone, which allows you to find local blood drives and donation centers, receive information about donating and schedule an appointment to donate.
