The American Red Cross is appealing to those who are eligible to make blood donations. Spokesperson Meghan Lehman tells WSJM News the supply is extremely low right now.
“It’s an emergency blood shortage, which just means we need to collect a lot of blood to meet the needs of patients,” Lehman said. “This is the lowest supply we’ve ha on hand at this time of year since 2015.”
Lehman says there are a few reasons why the blood supply is low.
“We did have an uptick in need for blood a few months ago with people rescheduling elective surgeries that maybe they put off during the pandemic, plus an uptick in emergency room visits.”
Another problem is that donations have been down about 10% for the past month. Those who give blood between now and September 30 will receive a football-inspired Red Cross T-shirt, while supplies last, plus a free haircut coupon by email from Sport Clips. You can sign up to donate at RedCrossBlood.org.
