The American Red Cross is calling on new and current blood donors to donate blood as soon as possible as the organization is facing a critical blood shortage, they announced on Thursday.
With blood and platelet donations being sent to hospitals faster than the rate at which they are coming in, the organization had to issue an emergency call for eligible donors.
“The decline in summer donations is causing a significant draw-down of our overall blood supply, and we urgently need people to give now to restock hospital shelves and help save lives,” Shaun Gilmore, president, Red Cross Biomedical Services, said in the statement.
With over 2,600 hospitals across the country in need of blood constantly, the Red Cross needs to collect about 14,000 blood donations daily. However, during the summer months when people tend to go away on vacation, fewer volunteer sponsors host blood drives, which makes this goal becomes difficult to achieve.
Independence week is especially hard for blood donations. The organization said that nearly 700 fewer blood drives were held the week of July fourth–which is essentially the equivalent of Red Cross not collecting blood for more than an entire day.
“Every day, patients recovering from accidents or those receiving treatments for cancer or blood disorders rely on lifesaving blood products regardless of the season,” Gilmore said.
In its recent announcement, the organization stated that over the last two months, the American Red Cross has had up to 61,000 fewer donations than what is needed.
“It’s crucial that people donate now to meet the needs of patients every day and to be prepared for emergencies that require significant volumes of donated blood,” Amy Brown, the Donor Recruitment district manager, Midwest Blood Services Region, said.
Every two seconds, someone in the U.S needs blood, according to the American Red Cross; which is later used to respond to patient emergencies, including accident and burn victims, heart surgery and organ transplant procedures, and patients receiving treatment for leukemia, cancer or sickle cell disease.
So even though donating blood can be a scary experience for many especially those terrified of needles, it is ultimately a life-saving process and is why the Red Cross is urging new and old donors to “roll up a sleeve” and donate.
Eligible individuals of all blood types can make an appointment by using the Red Cross Donor Blood App, visiting redcrossblood.org or calling the organization’s number. At its donation centers and community blood drives across the country, the organization says it added an additional 25,000 appointment slots for the next few weeks to accommodate the influx of donors it’s hoping to soon receive.
