Red Cross seeks blood donors during national shortage

QUAD CITIES, Ill./Iowa (KWQC) – The Red Cross is calling out to potential donors to help replenish the nation’s blood supply.

Nationwide, the shortfall is about 30,000 donations, and more blood is being distributed than is being collected.

Brian Williamsen with the Red Cross of the Quad Cities and West Central Illinois said the national organization supplies about 40% of the blood supply for the U.S. The need is to bring in 12,000 units per day, so the U.S. supply is a little more than two days short.

“It’s just so important to go ahead and roll the sleeve and then give blood right now,” he said.

It’s common for the national supply to dip in the summer, Williamsen said, because people’s routines have changed. Hurricane Idalia contributed to the shortage with fewer donations in the affected areas, and multiple drives were canceled because of power outages.

There are several ways to contact the Red Cross: visit blood.org, call 800-Red-Cross or download the free Red Cross app.

Appointments can be scheduled on the app, Williamsen said. “And what’s kind of cool about that is after you make your appointment, you can actually track where your blood goes from there.”

For its September promotion, everyone who donates through Sept. 18 will receive a free T-shirt while supplies last. Everyone who donates through Sept. 30 will receive a coupon for a free haircut at Sports Clips and be entered in a contest to win a VIP NASCAR Experience.

Regional blood drives this week:

• Kewanee: Sept. 13: 1-6 p.m., First Christian Church, 105 Dwight St.
• Sterling, Sept. 13, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sterling High School, 1608 4th Ave.
• Tampico, Sept. 13, 1-6 p.m. Reagan Community Center, 202 @. 2nd St.
• Geneseo: Sept. 14: Noon-6 p.m., First United Methodist Church South Campus Building, 302 N. State St.

Sept. 18-Sept. 27:

Bureau County

• Princeton: Sept. 19: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Allegion-LCN, 1224 N. Main St.
• Spring Valley: Sept. 20: 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Hall High School, 800 W. Erie St.

Henry County

• Cambridge: Sept. 21: 2-6 p.m. St. John Vianney Church, 313 S. West St.

Knox County

• Galesburg: Sept. 27, 1-6 p.m., Knox Agri Center, 180 S. Soangetaha Road.

Mercer County

• Aledo: Sept. 19, 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., VFW Hall, 106 SW 3rd Ave.

Rock Island

Moline: Sept. 22 and Sept. 27, American Red Cross of the Quad Cities, 1100 River Drive.

• Sept. 22: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Sept. 27, 1-6 p.m.

Whiteside County

• Morrison: Sept. 21, noon-6 p.m., St. Mary Catholic Church, 13320 Garden Plain Road

September is also Sickle Cell Awareness Month.

According to the Red Cross website, about 100,000 American suffer from the genetic blood disease that affects red blood cells and their ability to carry oxygen.

Patients rely on potentially thousands of blood transfusions throughout their lives to prevent life-threatening complications. The disease disproportionately affects individuals of African descent.

One in three African American blood donors are a match for people with sickle cell disease.

About 1,000 babies are born with the disease each year.

Facts about blood needs

• Every 2 seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood and or platelets.
• A single car accident victim can require as many as 100 units of blood.
• Blood and platelets cannot be manufactured; they can only come from volunteer donors.
• The blood type most often requested by hospitals is type O.
• One donation can help save more than one life.
• According to the American Cancer Society, more than 1.9 million people are expected to be diagnosed with cancer in 2023. Many of them will need blood, sometimes daily, during their chemotherapy treatment.

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