Consecutive Winter Storms Forced Cancellation of 70+ Red Cross Blood Drives
The Cascades Region of the American Red Cross is urging people to roll up their sleeves and give blood or platelets after back-to-back winter storms forced the cancellation of more than 70 drives, which resulted in the loss of nearly 2,100 units of blood products.
The Red Cross in Oregon and Washington has had difficulty resupplying blood collection sites because of road closures and icy conditions, forcing cancellations of blood drives across both states. Additionally, hosted blood drives were canceled as school districts and businesses closed due to inclement weather.
This has placed an already vulnerable inventory of blood products at critical levels.
Every day, the Red Cross must collect approximately 12,500 blood and nearly 3,000 platelet donations for patients who are currently undergoing medical procedures and treatments at about 2,500 hospitals and transfusion centers nationwide.
All eligible donors are urgently needed to help restock the shelves for these hospital patients.
Don't wait to make an appointment. Download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit "RedCrossBlood.org" or call 1-(800)-RED-CROSS.
Posted on 1/23/24 6:11AM by Sam Marsh
