Sonora Red Cross Blood Bank Closing Its Doors

Sonora, CA – The Sonora Red Cross Blood and Platelet Donation Center located on Sanguinetti and Greenly Road will close next month, and donors will have to travel to neighboring counties to give blood.

Clarke Broadcasting contacted American Red Cross California Gold Country Region Communications Director Stephen Walsh. He emailed that he was not available for an interview and gave us this statement attributed to the American Red Cross California Gold Country Region:

“After careful consideration, the American Red Cross has made the difficult decision to close our Sonora Blood Donation Center after September 22, 2023. Unfortunately, this center is among the top high-cost centers in the country for the Red Cross, and it has struggled to collect over the past few years despite the best efforts of staff and dedicated donors.

This decision will not affect the availability and timely distribution of blood and blood products to our hospital partners and patients. To ensure long-term sustainability, the Red Cross needs to generate greater efficiencies within its Blood Services division to continue to deliver cost-effective and reliable products and services for patients in need.

We are grateful to those who have rolled up their sleeves to donate blood over the years. With this closure, the closest Red Cross locations to give are in Modesto, Stockton, and Turlock. For additional questions about blood donation opportunities, please call 1-800-RED CROSS.

It’s important to emphasize that the Red Cross has a strong community presence in Sonora. As part of our broader humanitarian mission, the Red Cross will continue to provide disaster preparedness and response activities, services to military members, veterans and their families, and health and safety training. We remain committed to the communities we serve here in California and stand ready to provide assistance when needed.”

No further details regarding the cost to operate the facility or the drop-in donations were given. In June of this year, we reported on World Blood Donor Day that the center was offering gift cards to those donating blood due to a shortfall. At that time, Red Cross officials advised that they had more than 26,000 fewer blood donations in May than needed in the month to meet the needs of patients. They even provided a schedule of upcoming blood donation times for June, as detailed here.