The holiday season is upon us and that can often mean a decrease in the blood supply, according to the American Red Cross.
The organization is asking blood and platelet donors to squeeze in a donation to help keep a ready supply. Kristen Stancil is Communications Manager with the organization. She says the need remains constant, no matter the time of year.
“One blood donation could help save more than one life, so we do encourage people to come out and give,” Stancil said. “You never know who you might be allowing to have another birthday or celebrate another milestone or another holiday season with their family, so we do encourage people to come out and roll up a sleeve because there are a lot of hospital patients in need.”
She says the Red Cross is making the process easier by offering three ways to make an appointment and fit in a donation.
“You can go to redcrossblood.org, or you can also use the Red Cross Blood Donor App, which is the second way to make your appointment as well as learn more about the blood donation appointment; learn more about your blood type as well,” according to Stancil. “So there’s a lot of great resources available on our app. There’s also RapidPass, which can help save about 15 or so minutes when you come to donate.”
A new feature for RapidPass is that now donors can use it on their phones. They can also use the old-fashioned method of calling 1-800 RED- CROSS to make an appointment. That’s 1-800-733-2767 to make a phone call.
