American Red Cross ramps up blood donation efforts after a slow summer

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – The Red Cross is trying to avoid a blood shortage, their first since the pandemic.

“Blood cannot be manufactured, it can’t be stockpiled and so we’re asking people to consider making a donation,” said Regional Communications Director Jim McIntyre of the American Red Cross, Northern Ohio Region.

A blood drive at the Great Lakes Science Center Tuesday is one of the special events to boost donations.

“The American Red Cross has seen a shortfall of about twenty-five thousand blood donations the first two months of the summer,” said McIntyre. “That makes it really difficult to keep hospital shelves stocked with lifesaving blood products.”

The Science Center and the American Red Cross offered a commemorative t-shirt, a buy one, get one admission to the Science Center, and two Mitchell’s Ice Cream free scoop certificates for donors as well as a $10 gift card to a movie merchant of your choice for any donation in August.

“This will be my fifteenth donation,” said recent retiree Jim Seaton. “I normally donate whole blood and platelets and today I’m going for my “’More the Merrier’ badge so I brought a friend.”

“As a cancer survivor, I just want to give back to the public and help out a person who needs the blood in surgery,” said Larry Kennedy, who plays Santa on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. “Give blood and be on Santa’s Nice List.”

You can sign up for a blood donation in your neighborhood by logging on to redcross.org.

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