Red Cross makes emergency call for donations

Posted on January 8, 2017

37,000 fewer donations were made in December and November than were needed. (Photo courtesy Flickr/ejk)

By Adam Studzinski

BLOOMINGTON – The American Red Cross has an emergency need for blood donations.

Winter weather and holiday schedules led to about 37,000 fewer donations than were needed during November and December. Adding to that were the nearly 100 blood drives which were forced to cancel in December.

Spokeswoman Laura McGuire explained blood is being sent to hospitals faster than it’s coming in.

“There’s always a constant need for blood, based on the fact that blood products have an expiration date. Red blood cells have a shelf life of around 42 days and platelets have a shelf life at about five days,” she said.

Donating information can be found at www.redcrossblood.org or by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS.

Adam Studzinski can be reached at [email protected].

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