(Undated)– Officials with the American Red Cross are putting out a special call for donations of all types of blood right now, but they say the need for type “O” blood is expecially critical. Sue Thesenga of the American Red Cross tells KUOO news the shortages are pretty typical for this time of year…
“With winter weather and the flu, that keeps several or many donors from being able to donate. We want them to be safe getting to blood drives, but also many blood drives are cancelling, especially last Friday. We had about eight blood drives in our region cancel. We need to make up those donations because that blood has already been promised to area hospitals, so we’re really encouraging people to donate now, and that will help us replenish the blood supply. Right now the Red Cross has less than a three-day supply of type O blood, and that’s a really critical point because O blood is, O positive blood is the most transfused blood type, so it can be given to anybody with a positive blood type. And O negative is the universal blood type, and that’s what many hospitals staffs reach for during emergencies, when there’s not time to determine a patient’s blood type.”
Thesenga says the American Red Cross will be holding a number of blood drives throughout the region in coming weeks. Here’s a rundown on the dates, sites and times:
