The American Red Cross Blood Services of the New York-Penn Region is encouraging all eligible donors to give blood because the recent flooding of the Southern Tier and parts of Pennsylvania caused a shortfall in blood collections.
The flooding forced the Red Cross to cancel blood drives — which had been expected to garner approximately 900 units of blood — in affected areas between June 28 and July 5. As a result, blood types O negative and A negative were at critical levels and were being rationed to hospitals as of June 30.
The weather-induced cancellations and regional blood shortfall came at a particularly bad time, as blood donations typically decline between 10 percent and 15 percent during the summer months, according to the Red Cross.
Donors who were forced to cancel appointments due to the flooding are encouraged to reschedule as soon as possible.
For a complete list of blood drives or to schedule an appointment, current eligible and new donors should visit www.DonateBloodNow.org or call 800/GIVE-LIFE.
