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Extreme Cold & Snow Impacting Blood Supplies

January 17, 2024 Steve Schwaller

(Spirit Lake)– The extreme cold and snow is having an impact on the region’s blood supply. Shay Willis of LifeServe Blood Center tells KUOO news they experienced a big drop in donations over the past couple of weeks…

“So we actually have in the last week or so seen a loss of our ability to collect units to the tune of about 1,000 donations. We often tell people, you know, that one donation can potentially save or impact three people’s lives, and so if you do the math, a thousand donations lost means that not having that blood negatively impacts people in our hospitals that need that, you know, generous, lifesaving gift. And so we’re hoping that maybe even though there’s still winter weather in the forecast, we’re hoping that maybe people will still be able to find the time to come out either to one of our donor centers or to a mobile blood drive in their community to give blood, because the truth of the matter is the need of our patients in the hospitals we serve never stops.”

She says there are a couple of ways you can schedule an appointment to donate…

“You can do that on our website at lifeservebloodcenter.org and if you prefer not to do things online, no problem. We can help you in our contact center and you can reach them by calling 800-287-4903.”

LifeServe Blood Center provides blood products to 161 hospitals in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota, including many locally.

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