American Red Cross Calls For Emergency Donations, Be A Donor Today

The American Red Cross is still calling for blood donations in the middle of the summer blood shortage. The organization is said to have less than a five-day blood supply on hand, and more blood and platelets are needed to be distributed to hospitals.

American Red Cross calls for emergency blood donations amid shortage https://t.co/roPVKzC2FV via @usatoday pic.twitter.com/kjaplR9ank

— Liz Szabo (@LizSzabo) July 26, 2016

Unfortunately, according to USA Today, it seems that the shortages are caused when more blood and platelets are distributed faster than the donations are coming in. This is the Red Cross's second issue of emergency request for platelets and whole-blood donations.

"Every day we need about 14,000 units of blood. If the Red Cross were to stop receiving donations, we would have less than five days before running out," Sue Thesenga, external communications manager for the North Central region shared with Mankato Free Press. "When we issued the request earlier this month, we did see thousands of people donating, but we saw the blood going out as fast as it was going in. The need remains and now we're at a critical crossroads."

On its Facebook page, the American Red Cross said, "summer blood shortages are not uncommon, but they can be overcome when generous volunteers like you roll up your sleeves to restock the shelves."

The Chicago Tribune sad that about 14,000 blood donations are needed every day for the organization to supply blood and blood platelets to patients in 2,600 hospitals that it supports nationwide. Donors can give blood every 56 days, and people are encouraged to try to give as often as they can.

To encourage people to donate blood, everyone who does so gets a $4 Amazon gift card. Schedule an appointment to donate by calling the Red Cross hotline at 800-733-2767 or visit www.redcrossblood.org.