The Red Cross is reaching out to the community in an effort to collect blood donations.
September is National Preparedness Month, and the American Red Cross is urging eligible donors to make giving blood a priority. Keeta Bell is a Regional Communications Manager with the organization. She says blood products can make a significant difference in cases of urgent medical care.
“The need for blood is constant, it’s ongoing” Bell Said. “What a lot of people don’t understand is that every two seconds, someone in the United States needs blood. So it’s definitely important that if you’re able at any time to give blood because this is something that we need in case of emergency, if somebody’s in the hospital, new parents, premature babies, cancer patients, accident victims.”
Bell says the Red Cross collects 40 percent of the nation’s blood supply.
“The more people that can donate, we’re able to keep this available for people when they need it in case of an emergency, so it’s just very important for people to give because you don’t know what type of situation might come up. You don’t know what kind of health issues or anything along those lines. Being able to have a wide range of blood donors and also blood types is important.”
For more information or to schedule an appointment, you can use the Red Cross app or visit redcross.org for more information.
