YUMA, Ariz.-
Severe weather not only creates danger for those out on the roads but also a shortage of blood across the nation. The American Red Cross says they are running critically low on blood and platelets for people who need them.
“We’ve had over 30 donation programs in the country that have cancelled because of weather which resulted in about 11,000 donations that did not occur,” said Tom Batson, a member of the Yuma Red Cross. “We need about 14,000 blood and platelet donations collected everyday so we can support 2,600 hospitals and donation centers across the country.”
The Red Cross is running so low on blood that all donations are going directly to hospitals that need them. “Everything we use, or donate rather, is being used now. Nothing is being put in storage it is going right to the hospitals so you can only imagine you know how many patients need that everyday and every drop of it is going straight to them right now,” said Batson.
They say these next few weeks are critical and if more people would be able to donate they could get back to their regular supply within a few months, “for every blood donation we expect if we added two more to that one we would catch up to a shortage,” said Batson