Donors of all blood types are urged to give now and help restock blood supply
ST. PAUL, Minn. (Jan. 20, 2020) — The American Red Cross has extended its urgent call for donors of all blood types to give blood. With influenza escalating across the country and preventing some donors from giving, and winter weather threatening to cancel blood drives, the Red Cross now has a critical shortage of type O blood and urgently needs donors to restock the shelves. (below is a list of local blood drives)
O so needed
Currently, the Red Cross has less than a three-day supply of type O blood available for patient emergencies and medical treatments. Type O positive blood is the most transfused blood type and can be given to Rh-positive patients of any blood type. While just 7{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9} of the U.S. population has type O negative blood, it can be transfused to patients with any blood type and is what hospital staff reach for during emergencies when there isn’t time to determine a patient’s blood type.
Help replenish the blood supply
Every day, the Red Cross must collect nearly 13,000 blood donations and more than 2,600 platelet donations for patients who rely on blood to survive. Shortfalls in donations can cause delays in essential medical care for patients like 12-year-old Dagan Hawkins.
Diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in November, Dagan has required platelet and blood transfusions during his cancer treatments. “There was a time when they needed to have blood products delivered from another hospital because they were unavailable there,” said Dustin Hawkins, Dagan’s father.
Donors of all blood types – especially types O positive and O negative – are urged to make an appointment to give blood now using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or enabling the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device.
Local counties with upcoming blood drives:
Rice
Dundas
2/7/2020: 1 p.m. – 7 p.m., Cannon Valley Cinema 10, 404 Schilling Drive N.
Faribault
1/22/2020: 11:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., American Legion Post 43, 112 5th St. NE
2/4/2020: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m., District One Hospital, 200 State Ave.
2/6/2020: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour, 141 6th St. NW
2/9/2020: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Elks Lodge, 131 Lyndale Ave. N.
2/10/2020: 1 p.m. – 6 p.m., Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 1207 Prairie Ave. SW
2/12/2020: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m., Eagles Club, 2027 W. Grant St.
Lonsdale
2/5/2020: 1 p.m. – 7 p.m., American Legion, 115 Second Ave. NW
Northfield
1/25/2020: 8 a.m. – 12 p.m., FiftyNorth, 1651 Jefferson Parkway
2/3/2020: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Culver’s, 960 Highway 3 S.
2/4/2020: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m., Carleton College, 300 N. College St.
2/5/2020: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m., Carleton College, 300 N. College St.
2/6/2020: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m., Carleton College, 300 N. College St.
Goodhue
Cannon Falls
1/24/2020: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Mayo Clinic Health System, 32031 County Road 24 Blvd.
1/27/2020: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Riverwood Community Church, 5343 Highway 19 Blvd.
Kenyon
2/5/2020: 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., Kenyon Wanamingo High School, 400 6th St.
2/6/2020: 1 p.m. – 7 p.m., St Michaels Catholic Church, 108 Bullis St.
