Critical Type O Blood Shortage, Red Cross Urgently Needs Donors
Donors of all blood types are urged to give now and help restock blood supply
The American Red Cross has extended its urgent call for donors of all blood types to give blood or platelets. 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.
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% 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 or platelets 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.
Upcoming blood donation opportunities:
Brown Deer
1/24/2020: 2 p.m. – 6 p.m., St Mark Evangelical Lutheran Church, 8635 N 60th St.
Cudahy
2/19/2020: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Prime Financial Credit Union, 5656 S Packard Ave
Milwaukee
1/21/2020: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., AO Smith Corp, 11270 W Park Pl
1/23/2020: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., Schlitz Park, 1555 N River Center Dr
1/23/2020: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., US Courthouse, 517 E Wisconsin Ave
1/31/2020: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., School Sisters of St. Francis Milwaukee, 1515 S. Layton Blvd.
2/7/2020: 8 a.m. – 2 p.m., Ronald Reagan High School, 4965 S 20th St
2/17/2020: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Cardinal Stritch – Bonaventure Hall, 6801 N Yates Rd
2/17/2020: 12 p.m. – 5 p.m., Alumni Memorial Union, 1442 W Wisconsin Ave
2/18/2020: 1 p.m. – 6 p.m., Lutheran Chapel of the Cross, 3353 S. Whitnall
Oak Creek
1/22/2020: 1 p.m. – 6 p.m., Oak Creek West Middle School, 8401 S 13th St
Wauwatosa
2/4/2020: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Bergstrom Hall, 2900 North Menomonee River Pkwy
West Allis
2/20/2020: 8 a.m. – 1 p.m., Nathan Hale High School, 11601 W Lincoln Ave
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
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