The American Red Cross said there is a nationwide blood shortage due to July’s extreme heat and people’s summer travel plans.
The American Red Cross said there is a nationwide blood shortage due to July’s extreme heat and people’s summer travel plans.
The Red Cross said donations plummeted by more than 25% in the month of July, with heat forcing the cancellation of more than 100 blood drives. The cancellations resulted in a shortfall of more than 19,000 blood donations.
Type O blood is what is needed most.
“One of the major distractions we’re dealing with now is a storm called Debby. Debby is wreaking havoc from Florida to the Carolinas. And as it does, it disrupts blood collection,” said Richard Branigan, regional executive for the American Red Cross of Connecticut and Rhode Island.
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“There’s an urgent need across the nation. We’ve had a recent decline over July. Summer is always hard,” said Cheryl Engels, board member for the Red Cross of Connecticut. “We’re very low on blood supply right now.”
On Wednesday, the Farmington headquarters unveiled their newly-renovated blood donor center that’s two years in the making. It will make donating more comfortable for people, and they hope it will get more people in the door to give.
“It makes it more convenient, and the more convenient it is, the more donors we can get,” Branigan said. “This is really a precious gift for someone to come in and donate platelets, a 2–3-hour process, and they do it religiously.”
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The center was busy with donors ahead of the ribbon cutting. Thuy-Linh Phan, originally from Southington, was among them.
“I’ve been donating since 2018 actually, and this is platelet donation number 96,” Phan said.
She’s on track to reach 100 donations before she turns 30 this fall.
“Kindness is love in action, so this is something I can do that really makes a difference,” Phan added. “The furthest my platelets have gone is the children’s hospital in Philadelphia. It actually makes a big difference, especially for people who have cancer and trauma, so that really drives me to help strangers in need.”
